Tron: The Revolution Begins -- Book One: The Ascent to Freedom
by PrincessKai317
Summary: After Tron is healed, and Clu didn't depart to Argon yet. The Uprising has begun, thanks to Zed and Mara. As The Revolution expands, Beck has to turn to his friends for help along the way. He's more confident than ever to win Paige over. But Beck has a secret past that could affect his future forever. Will Beck have what it takes to face what is coming his way? Beck/OC Zed/Mara
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

Beck walked through an alleyway in Argon City. He abruptly stopped when he reached the docks. This was where he was supposed to meet up with Tron.

His Renegade disguise glowed its usual brilliant white light. He shrugged. "Guess I'm a little early." He thought. This meet up thing might not matter. But he remembered how urgent Tron sounded. He said something about needing to speak with him about needing to make a decision that could change his future forever. "Okay, so it may be a little important."

He doubted there was anything terribly wrong. "Maybe Tesler is somehow behind whatever it is."

Beck's thoughts are interrupted when he heard someone approaching. He quickly flipped on his mask, just in case it wasn't Tron. But, of course, it was Tron, wearing his almost completly black suit that he wears for field operations, and he had his mask on. Beck let out a little sigh of relief, and started to walk up to greet him, but didn't take off his mask.

Then Tron suddenly held up his hand to stop him. "Look, we need to talk about something." He said.

Beck was a bit surprised and confused at how Tron was acting. "Okay."

Tron took a deep breath and figured out how to word what he'll say. "Beck, I need to temporarily leave Argon and head to Tron City to investigate."

Beck was shocked. "What?! No! This better not be about that whole getting revenge thing on Dyson and CLU."

Tron quickly shook his head. "No, no, nothing like that. It's just the fact that Dyson should have returned to CLU by now to tell him about me, you know, being alive. I'm a little surprised that he hadn't come to Argon yet."

Beck slowly nodded his head, trying to understand. "Yeah that's a little surprising too, but what if he's expecting you to come to him? It could all be a trap."

Tron shook his head. "No. Thinking that I'm still supposedly scarred, he would think I couldn't make the journey. Besides, I'm just investigating. I'm not going to cause any trouble. It'll be like I'm not there at all."

Beck slowly nodded his head, understanding what Tron will do. "So, what do I do on my part?"

Tron didn't hesitate to answer. "You will stay here in Argon and keep doing what you usually do. And for training, well, run the light cycle course outside. You need practice on jumping that gorge. Hand to hand combat training will have to wait."

Beck gasped. "What?! What do you mean I'm not coming? You could use the backup, and what will I do fighting the occupation on my own? With Able gone and all, I'll be on my own."

Tron once again shook his head. "No, you won't"

Beck looked at him. "What?"

Tron said. "You need to make a decision; this is what I originally wanted to talk to you about."

Beck said. "What are you talking about?"

Tron suggested. "You always have your friends."

This was the last thing Beck expected Tron to say.


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

For a few moments, Beck was speechless. "What do mean I have my friends? Do you expect me to just flip off my mask right in front of them and just say 'hey guys I've been the Renegade the whole time and didn't tell you because I was concerned about your safety.' Part of that won't make any sense to them!"

Tron patiently explained "That's your choice to reveal yourself, it always has been your choice. Besides, you've managed to work with them before without revealing yourself."

Beck's mind was reeling at the thought. "So, you're saying that I could tell them everything; about you, and everything that I've been doing?"

Tron shrugged. "You could, if that's what you truly want. But like I said before, I should be gone for about three cycles. So, they may not wholeheartedly trust your word on the facts about me until they see for themselves. All you need from them is their support. And remember, it's your choice whether or not to tell them everything."

Beck closed his eyes, trying to process everything he heard Tron say. "Okay, but what if things don't work out? What if I let you and both of them down?" Beck looked up, but realized that Tron had left already; heading straight for Tron City and was nowhere to be seen. Beck glanced back at the ground, slightly shaking his head. "That's Tron for you" he said to himself.

…

Paige rode on her light cycle through the streets, heading straight for the docks. The Occupation got a tip from a random citizen that the renegade was heading in that general direction. She felt weird on the inside, and remembered the very last thing the renegade said to her when she last saw him. 'I'm fighting for you too.'

She pushed the memory away to the back of her mind. "No" She thought. "He tried to trick me, he framed me just so he could win me over onto his side and truly become guilty. He's a criminal who needs to be stopped."

Her thoughts are interrupted when a program dressed almost completely in black and wearing a mask sped right by her, heading straight for the docks as well and disappeared into the mass of vehicles on the road.

"That's funny." She thought. "He really resembles that one program that cut off Tesler's arm during the public showdown and gave the Renegade the chance to get away." Then she shook her head. "No, I'm sure other programs take up that appearance all the time.

She sped down the road faster and sharply turned into an alleyway. She derezzed her bike back into a baton and started to jog straight for the docks. "Maybe if I get there in time, I'll see what he's up to now." She thought. "Then I'll report back to Tesler on what I've discovered after we fight. Maybe I'll actually catch him this time, and he'll finally be brought to justice"

"Oh who am I kidding?" She said out loud. "I'm only going to come back empty handed as usual."

She turned into another alley when she heard two programs talking. "Maybe that's him." She thought. Paige peeked around the corner and she saw the Renegade talking to the Mysterious black figure-which she saw earlier.

"You can do this" The mysterious program said. "I know you can, 'Tron'"

"Score" She thought. "Two rebels about to be my prey."

She drew her disk and was about to jump out and strike when the mysterious black figure turned and rezzed his bike and rode away, without hesitation, let alone a backward glance.

The next thing Paige knew, the program disappeared, leaving her alone with the Renegade. "Well, that makes it even easier." She thought before stepping out from behind the crate.


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Beck was pacing the ground in circles, mask on, with the suit, and all. "This can't be happening. This can't be happening! What am I supposed to do now?"

"Oh believe that it's happening." A mysterious voice said. Beck turned towards whom was speaking and was surprised to see Paige. "And allow me to suggest what to do next, Renegade. Stand still and put your hands up so I won't have to hurt you."

"Oh Paige, you realize that I can't follow both of your commands." The Renegade said. He turned and took off running before he jumped and rezzed his light cycle. Paige too, rezzed her bike and pursued him, catching up with him quickly.

"Are you even trying to get away?" Paige asked as she slammed her bike against the Renegade's. "Just doing a casual cruise around Argon." He joked.

Paige was at her core with annoyance because of the Renegade. She had an idea to catch him off his guard by doing a move out of the usual, it was risky though. She derezzed her bike back into a baton and leaped at the Renegade, knocking him off his bike and sliding across the ground.

Beck's bike automatically turned back into a baton and lay about 15 feet away, far out of his reach. Paige held him down, knees pinning his shoulders and his arms to the ground. Unable to move his arms or legs to throw her off. Paige had her disk activated and held it up against him, barely touching his throat. He did not like the odds right now.

Paige was about to derez him, but then she hesitated, was her empathetic feelings starting to come back? Beck noticed her grip loosened slightly and took advantage of the opportunity.

He ripped his arms free of Paige's weakened grip, grabbed her, and pinned her down. Paige struggled, but the Renegade was holding her wrists down and using his weight to keep her pinned.

Beck gazed into her face, looking into her eyes. Suddenly, Beck didn't see Paige anymore, he saw someone else, someone he knew.

The girl had dark curved eyebrows and thick eyelashes, her eyes were dark blue, with a small nose and pointed chin. Her hair was almost shoulder length and perfectly straight, with a mildly choppy haircut at the tips, blonde, with almost an inch of the tips dyed a very vibrant red.

She was playing music in a club, a pleasant smile on her face. She was clearly enjoying what she was doing. She looked at Beck her smile getting wider, she switched her music player to automatic, ran as fast as she could over to Beck. He took her in his arms, and embraced her in a kiss, the sweetest one he ever had.

Beck abruptly snapped out of the flashback, speechless. He stumbled away from Paige, gasping and cradling his masked head in his hands.

He looked back at Paige. She looked normal again, and she stared at him with curiosity at why he got off her so quickly, and what's affecting him now. She also seemed to have a hint of sympathy and concern. She too, was speechless.

"Are you..?" She began. But Beck already ran off, baton in hand, and he rezzed his bike and disappeared within seconds.

He sped through the streets, slightly shaking his head. "What is wrong with me?" He asked himself. Of all the memories from his past, and this specific one had to come up? Beck shook his head again, trying to stop the flow of the memories of her from coming back in.

"No" He told himself. "That was a long time ago, besides it's not like it mattered much anymore. All the memories did was hurt him from the inside out. "She's dead, she died a long time ago in another city, another time, another Life. He cursed, trying to keep himself in control, trying to fight the depression that was beginning to drag him down like it did before. After **IT** happened.


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Beck raced through the narrow street to his new apartment.

After Pavel took control of Able's Garage, he fired every single mechanic for standing up against General Tesler alongside the Renegade.

When you lose your job there, you also lose your dormitory, locker, and so on. Everyone cleaned out their bedrooms and lockers a long time ago. Beck managed to get a new apartment; he lives with Zed and Mara. It's really no big deal; it's easy to sneak out.

His own bedroom has a fire escape, so he only has to climb out his window. He stopped right at the ladder, turned his bike back into a baton, and climbed up. Once he was inside, he jogged over to the cabinet, opened it, and stuck the half disk with the suit on the underside of the shelf.

Beck turned and looked in the mirror. He noticed that he shook slightly. "Crap" Beck thought. If he didn't pull himself together, and _fast_, Zed and Mara would notice that something's wrong for sure. Beck distracted himself by wondering what he and his friends would be doing later on.

While his mind wasn't thinking about the past, he walked downstairs and went into the living room where Zed and Mara were. "Hey guys, what's up?" Beck asked. They looked up at him. "Nothing much, we're just going to head to the club, you know, like always."

Beck nodded his head. "Okay, is there anything else, or is that it?" Mara hesitantly looked at Zed and shook her head. "No, there's more, but it's just about our ex-coworkers. Link, Dash, Copper, and the other of our ex-coworkers from the garage are starting to recruit programs to help them cause as many problems as possible for General Tesler."

Beck's eyes widened slightly in surprise. He didn't really expect them to keep rebelling for so long, he thought it would eventually die off, forgotten. "Well… That's new. Since when have they been rising up against Tesler?"

Mara narrowed her eyes a little. "After everyone stood up against Pavel in defense of the Renegade. But of course you wouldn't know that, because as usual, you aren't there."

Zed stiffened a little. "Come on Mara, go easy on him. I'm sure Beck was just… occupied…with… other matters. Oh! Maybe you were just hanging out with Cyrus, right?"

Beck tensed when he heard the name. "No, actually, I haven't seen him since the incident. With… Able, I mean. Does that seem a little peculiar to you?" Beck locked eyes with both of them, giving the 'hint, hint' facial expression, trying to tell Zed and Mara that Cyrus was bad. But, of course, they were completely oblivious, as usual.

…

At the club, Beck, Zed, and Mara were sitting at a booth, drinking their livations. Beck stared at his full glass blankly; he finally managed to clear his head of that girl from his past.

He looked up and glanced around the club. He could have sworn that he saw the mysterious girl again. But this time, for real. Beck gasped, stood up, and ran out of the club for fresh air before Zed or Mara could react to how Beck acted. _No, no, no, no, NO! This can't be happening! She's dead, she died a long time ago, it's not possible._ Beck thought as he stumbled outside, sucking in a lungful of air to calm himself down.

After a few nanocycles of clearing his head and getting back under control, he cautiously walked back to the club and stopped in confusion. He stood at the entrance and peeked inside. From what he saw inside, made him even more confused and dead shocked! Standing at the booth where Zed and Mara sat, talking to them, was a girl.


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Paige walked down the main hallway of Tesler's Base. She headed straight for the throne room to report on what she did or didn't find out tonight. She wasn't sure how to report the events tonight.

_Um, yeah. Actually, tonight was very interesting. It turns out; the Renegade has a close ally who looks just like the program that cut off your arm during the public showdown. After the mysterious black figure left, I attacked the Renegade, as usual and then… well… I think he has some serious mental problems._

Ha! Like General Tesler would even care! Paige stopped at the door, took a deep breath, and walked in confidently. She was very good at hiding her emotions.

No, her story was too far out of the usual; Tesler might think that she's the one with the mental problems. "Paige, welcome back, come in." _I'm already walking in._ Paige thought sarcastically. _No, pull yourself together, what's wrong with you?_

"What's the report from the docks?" Tesler asked. Paige opened her mouth to speak, but hesitated. _Now's your last chance._ She thought to herself. She made her decision.

"There was nothing there." Paige said quickly and shrugged. Tesler leaned back in his chair, looking relieved. "Good." He said. "I was hoping there would be nothing."

…

Beck stared inside the club, curious. He didn't know who this girl was. She was masked, gloved, and dressed in a completely black suit with few white circuits. The suit had a different design though. It looked nothing like Tron's outfit. It looked cute on her though, and it made her look extra mysterious and tough.

Beck was a little suspicious though; there was something wrong with the way she moved, the way she was talking. Beck turned and headed for the nearest alleyway to disguise himself. He reached for his disc, yanked it off, and switched his outfit that looked just like the one that Tron used for the field operations.

His suit turned black, and he flipped his mask on. Beck walked back into the club, sat down not too far from Zed and Mara's table and eavesdropped in on their conversation.

"You're sure that it won't be too much of a problem?" The mysterious girl inquires. "No, of course it won't be a problem." Zed said. "Don't worry." Mara says. "We have it all under control. The secret's safe with us." "Okay" The girl says. "Be sure to spread the word to the right programs." She glanced around carefully. Beck looked away before she noticed. "And be sure to tell **him** everything."

Beck heard enough. He got up, walked outside, and switched his outfit back to normal. By the time Beck walked inside, the girl in black turned and walked away from Zed and Mara's table, gradually disappearing into the crowd.

Beck walked over to the table, his quizzical expression obvious on his face. "Who was that?" He asked. "And what was she doing here?"

Zed and Mara exchanged a glance. Mara answered, picking her words carefully. "She's a black market trader. She just asked for Zed and me specifically to spread the word to certain programs about something."

Mara shrugged it off. She obviously wasn't going to specify what it was about. And once Mara has her mind made up, there's no changing it.

_Who's the program that's going to get the message?_ Beck thought. Obviously, it wasn't Beck who was going to find out what was going on anytime soon. But the Renegade on the other hand, could.


	6. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Beck climbed down the fire escape, half disc in hand. Once he reached the bottom, he put on the disk, and he rezzed his baton. He knew where to go; Beck had managed to get Mara to tell him where the black market program usually was.

It wasn't much of a surprise about her location, just an ordinary alleyway in a specific area. Once you get there, you only need to do two things. Sit there, and wait until she comes.

Beck had learned other useful tips and facts from other programs. She was known as 'The Librarian', keeper of secrets. No one knew her true name. She's definitely a black market program, but she's very unique.

She works with unusual things that most programs never really considered useful before. Her job is to spread the word about various things to a program's request. When she's asked, she'll deliver messages from one program to another. The messages that are sent could be rumors, conversations, or a request to meet with someone, someplace.

The most important part for Beck comes in to play. The only payment she accepts is secrets. And she strictly sticks with the payment, no exceptions.

Of all the secrets on the grid, the secrets Beck knows may be the juiciest of them all. And that is what makes Beck nervous the most. He also found out that The Librarian operates by strict rules: honesty, fairness, and trustworthiness.

The three rules The Librarian used unsettled Beck. The mysterious girl from Beck's past also lived by three rules, but different ones. Beck forcefully pushed the thought to the back of his mind. _That doesn't matter right now._ He thought.

He had arrived. Beck stopped his bike and derezzed it back into a baton. Not even by instinct, he knew that he had to be careful. He still wasn't entirely sure what situation he was getting into.

He cautiously, carefully, started to walk into the alley, and then stopped. He didn't even have to wait a nanocycle before he was approached. Apparently, the Renegade has been expected.

The Librarian, wearing the black, gloved suit, mask, and all, slowly walked over to Beck and abruptly stopped. "I see word has gotten to you." She said. _It has._ Beck thought.

He now remembered that a random citizen had told him that the Librarian had been looking for him. _For what?_ He wondered. She took a few steps closer to Beck, a little too close for Beck's liking, it made him very uncomfortable.

She tilted her head slightly to the side. "I'm aware that you're a very busy program." She said. "So I'll get straight to the point, and let me assure you, it's very important. What would you like in return to answer some of my questions?"

Beck knew that she only worked with secrets or messages of some sort, so he began to brainstorm. What was it that he wanted to know? Beck found the one thing he was looking for. "I want to know how you operate."

The request didn't seem to take her by surprise. "I thought you might ask for that." She said. "I've heard that you were the type of program that likes Intel." She backed away two steps, which relieved Beck; he liked to have his personal space.

"As you might know logically, I don't work alone." She said. "I have programs that travel all over cities, even the entire grid, passing on messages from one program to another. And the payment of course, is secrets. We consider secrets to be the most valuable possible thing on the grid."

"Some programs," She said. "Are well aware of the value of secrets and come here often to trade secrets, if they're not here to request the delivery of a message. Oh! And I should also add, for your sake.

My Messengers and I treat the Occupation the same way as we treat the citizens, and the Resisters. And a lot of Occupation soldiers who know our system, have come along quite often, asking for secrets about you."

"Did you tell them anything?" The Renegade asked. The Librarian shook her head. "No, we have no known secrets about you. Besides, I'm not interested in knowing anything about that."

Beck tensed a little, wondering what she would want to know if it wasn't anything personal about him. "Then, what do you want to know?" He asked. Beck wasn't sure he liked where this was going.

The Librarian started walking forward again. This time, Beck started backing up, until he stopped against a wall. She stopped right in front of the Renegade, barely touching his body.

She spoke again, this time her voice sounded accusing, menacing, and almost angry. "I'm actually interested in knowing why and how Cyrus isn't still locked up in his **Special Prison**.


	7. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Beck was so shocked he couldn't talk for a second. _How does she know about Cyrus?_ Beck wondered. Coming here was a mistake. He wanted to run, to get out of here, but The Librarian had him trapped against the wall.

She obviously wasn't about to let him go easy until he gave her an answer. Beck inhaled sharply, she had her body pressed against his, hard, to keep him against the wall. He did not like the situation he was in right now.

He wasn't able to go anywhere anytime soon so he answered her question with a question. "How do you know Cyrus?" It always seemed to annoy every program he met, but he was curious to know how The Librarian knew Cyrus.

She tightened her grip on Beck. Her body pushed his even harder against the wall, and answered. "Cyrus and I used to; I guess you could call it, dating." Beck was shocked to hear what he she was saying. _She and Cyrus… dated?_

"He was a great program at the time; kind, charming, and mysterious. Then one day, he vanished, practically into thin air. At least for several cycles, that is. I was overjoyed to see him again. After all, I thought he was dead. But when I saw him again for the first time, acted different… he looked different.

He… just wasn't the same anymore. He was more aggressive then he used to be, and… he was covered completely in… light lines, I don't know why, and I never did… know what happened to him.

Then, one night, we were out in the club. A program made fun of his appearance and how ridiculous the light lines looked. Cyrus took out his disk and he… derezzed him. Cyrus ran out of the club, not appearing to be ashamed of what he did; I followed and caught up easily.

'What was that? I can't believe you just did that! You unlawfully derezzed a random citizen! What is wrong with you?!' I was taken by surprise when we were both grabbed from behind by two dark, gloved programs in masks, with very little white circuitry.

One of them pinned my arms behind my back in a bind, slapped handcuffs on my wrists, hoisted me up with ease, over a shoulder, and carried me away, struggling. The other knocked out my ex-boyfriend and dragged him off into the outlands. That was the last time I saw Cyrus.

I was blindfolded and still cuffed when he put me down on the floor and pushed me to my knees. I demanded to know where I was, and what just happened back there. The blindfold was yanked off and nearly blinding light flooded into my eyes.

My eyes quickly adjusted and I looked around. I was being held in some kind of interrogation room. The mysterious program stood before me. He calmly, gradually explained what was going on to me. He also explained what was going to happen to Cyrus and why it had to be done.

I took a brief moment to let what he told me sink in. I felt a little sad that I would never see Cyrus again, but then again, he was long gone when he returned to me in Purgos.

I straightened up, adjusting in the cuffs that were still locked on my wrists, and I told myself in my head that this was for the best, for Cyrus and every other living program.

When my captor was done talking he turned and walked behind me. A few moments later, I felt a shock in my system and I fell over, unconscious. I woke up in this alleyway afterward." She lifted her arm and gestured to the alley we were standing in.

"There's more. A few cycles ago, I witnessed Cyrus blow up some sort of disk forging shop in Purgos. The shop's owner, I think her name was Gorn, didn't survive. And the worst of it was, he seemed to actually enjoy killing the programs."

The Librarian pressed her body on me again, pushing me harder against the wall. Clearly her patience was wearing thin. "You still didn't explain how Cyrus broke loose and got out." After I recovered from large, powerful wave of shock from her story about Cyrus, I told her everything I knew about Cyrus, and I told her about each time I saw him.

She let go of me, satisfied that she was kept up to date on her ex-boyfriend. "Thank you, for the information, I'll try to devise a plan for his recapture. I just need you to do me just a little, tiny favor in return for telling you something personal about my past, I need you to find the mysterious figure that kidnapped me so I can tell him my plan to subdue Cyrus."

The Librarian let out a small amount of gentle laughter, and slowly stepped into the shadows, gradually, disappearing from sight, until only her mask was showing, then she was gone. Beck quickly reflected on his thoughts. _Okay, she was a little creepy, but at least I have another supposed ally against Cyrus._

Beck knew who the two mysterious, dark programs that the Librarian was talking about: Tron and Able. Beck knew that Able was the one that built Cyrus's prison, so Tron must have been the one that kidnapped The Librarian and brought her to the hideout to explain everything.

Beck turned and slowly, cautiously exited the narrow alleyway. He may be welcome there, but out of that safe haven, is danger around every corner. Like always, he has to watch his back and be very careful. Like always.

One problem was, Tron wasn't going to return to Argon until at least two and a half cycles to about four cycles, at the most. So he'll have to wait for Tron to return from his investigation before he can help The Librarian any further.

_The Librarian._ Beck stopped for a few moments to think about her. He thought about why he never trusted her when he first layed eyes on her. She reminds Beck about that other girl from his past that he suddenly can't get out of his head. The weird thing is, The Librarian and the girl have nothing in common.

Okay, seriously, Beck needs to get a grip on himself before the depression of losing her drags him down again. And this time, no one will be there to help him.


	8. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Beck rode his bike through the streets. His Renegade outfit stood out against his black light cycle. It was after curfew, which meant there would be late programs to rescue.

Most of the programs he rescued lately were rebels, dedicated to fight against Tesler until they get derezzed. It was a pointless logic. No one's any good to the Revolution if they're dead.

Beck stopped at a minor base. This particular one was where all the recognizers' routes are scheduled. At this time of night, almost all of them are for enforcing the curfew.

Beck kicked down the door to the control room and knocked everyone out with ease. He handcuffed them all and gave them in a timeout in a dark closet. He shut the closet door behind him and locked it.

He pulled up the routing info. It wasn't very busy tonight, there was only one recognizer that had prisoners, and it was already on its way to the Coliseum. Beck pulled out his light jet baton, and ran out of the building.

He jumped and rezzed the jet. He knew where the recognizer would go before it reached the Coliseum. He turned and steered the jet towards a tall building. He landed on the building and waited for the right moment to jump.

Beck did this kind of stuff so many times; he could do it in his sleep. The recognizer passed underneath, Beck closed his eyes briefly, took a deep breath, and let gravity take him to his target.

He landed on the recognizer safely; next he turned, opened the escape hatch in the roof and jumped inside. He took out one of the guards from behind easily, but a black guard drew his disk and slashed it across the Renegade's mid-section. Beck doubled over, staggering backwards. He recovered after a few moments, and knocked out the black guard.

The Renegade turned around so he could free all the prisoners, and he abruptly stopped, surprised. He knew all these programs. Dash, Copper, Link, Bartik, Hopper, Zed, Mara, and some other ex-coworkers were all prisoners on the recognizer. Zed looked up at the Renegade. "Well, hello." He said casually. "Nice of you to drop in."

Beck quickly recovered. "Alright, let's get you guys out of here." "Really? Are you sure you're not going to derez us?" Mara asked. Beck glanced at her briefly, and then focused back on freeing the prisoners. "Don't let what Mara said get to you." Link whispered to Beck as he was freed.

"I'll try not to." The Renegade said as he freed the last program. He docked his disk, and turned around to take the controls and land the recognizer. "And, I think you should all know," He turned and faced Mara. "I know how it looked back there, but I didn't kill Able. In fact, I miss him just as much as you do."

"You knew Able?' Dash asked. The Renegade looked away from Mara to focus on what he was doing, and replied. "Yeah, in fact, he saved my life once, I owe him so much."

Mara took this under consideration. "So, if you're not responsible for his death, then, who is?" Everyone turned and looked at the Renegade. Beck remembered that Zed and Mara met Cyrus, and they thought he was great. He sighed. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

Mara took a step towards the Renegade. "I think I can trust your word on it." Before Beck could answer, a missile hit them. His injury brushed against the control panel, making him cry out with pain. He had to land this stupid machine, before they exploded, or fell to their death.

The Occupation fired at them again, this time, they used ordinary plasma cannons, and they were aiming at the Renegade. Beck avoided most of the shots before he took several hits and collapsed on the ground, unconscious from the damages. And light blue pixels, glittered beautifully, all over his abdomen, as he lay there, completely still.


	9. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Zed stared at the Renegade's motionless body; he could not believe what he was seeing. _The Renegade was taken down! He's down!_ Mara quickly took action to keep the Renegade's code stable, while Dash took the controls to evade incoming attacks.

"Recognizers! I hate recognizers, why do all of our problems always somehow involve recognizers?! And now, I have to pilot one!" "Dash! Shut up!" Mara yelled. "Our current pursuit isn't our only problem right now!" She lifts her hand and gestures at the Renegade's injured, unconscious body.

Zed spoke up too. "Mara's right, just land this thing so we can get out of this situation. And we need to get 'Tron' out of here, somewhere so his injuries can be properly treated." Link nodded in agreement.

"Okay, okay, *ahem*." Dash leaned into the communications. He giggled slightly. "Recognizer pilot # 13407 requesting permission to land-" "Dash!" Mara yelled. "Okay!" Dash said. "Alright, just take it easy; I'm landing the crap machine."

The recognizer landed roughly, shaking everything, hard. The Renegade groaned, but didn't wake up. "Alright." Bartik said as he picked up the Renegade and slung him over his shoulder. "Let's get the hell out of here, I am not about to become a brainwashed puppet of General Tesler."

Everyone sprinted out of the recognizer, relieved that the chase was over… only to find themselves surrounded. Pavel and Paige stood side by side, obviously neither of them were thrilled with the fact they were working together.

Pavel spoke first. "You are surrounded, put your hands up, and come along willingly." Bartik simply put the Renegade down and he pulled out his disk, Hopper did the same. The other resistors followed their lead. Paige glanced down at the Renegade's crumpled, injured body.

Paige almost felt a pang of pity for him, but she pushed the feelings aside. _The Renegade is a wanted criminal, he rains down chaos, and I vowed not to let him get away with it._ The soldiers closed the rebels in, blocking any chance of escape. Paige and Pavel drew their disks and approached the surrounded group carefully.

Pavel, not being very smart, attacked first; Mara kicked him out of the way with ease. The rest of the soldiers engaged their opponents, and soon enough, everyone was in a locked fight; not including the Renegade's unconscious figure.

After a few nanocycles of fighting, the Renegade woke up and slowly, tried to get up. Paige saw this happening and strode over to subdue him. He managed to get onto his knees, before Paige grabbed him and pinned him back onto the ground.

The Renegade fought weakly, but his injuries left him very vulnerable. Paige flipped him onto his stomach and put handcuffs on him.

Mara hit Pavel upside the head, knocking him out. Then, she turned to assist her fellow comrades, when she saw Paige leading the Renegade away in handcuffs. Mara punched a black guard that was fighting Zed, and the two ran over to Paige.

Paige saw them coming, she pushed the Renegade aside and disconnected her disk. "Alright, who's first?" She blocked Mara's punch, but was too late before Zed whacked her in the back of the head, knocking her out.

Mara ran over to the Renegade, freed him, and helped him up. "Are you okay?" She asked. "Sure." The Renegade answered. "Never better... saving the injuries, of course." She slung the Renegade's arm over her shoulders and slowly helped him up.

"What do we do now?" Link asked. "Now we get out of here." Beck replied. He pointed a finger towards an abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of Argon. "I recommend that we head towards that warehouse."

Beck took his arm off Mara's shoulders to see if he could stand on his own; he was slightly unbalanced, but he could walk. He pulled out his light cycle baton. "Come on." He encouraged. "I'll race you there."

Dash pulled out his light bike. "I bet I'll beat you." He shot back. "Dash he's still injured." Mara reminded him. "Oh yeah, I forgot. Hey 'Tron', let's just go easy."

The Renegade shrugged. "Okay, let's just try to get out of here, and fast before history starts to repeat itself." He lifted his hand and gestured at all the unconscious soldiers. "We don't want them to wake up again before we're gone."

Zed pulled out his bike he made for the Argon Race. "Race you Mara." He challenged. Mara just laughed and walked over to the Renegade. "Not a chance Zed, let's just try to stick together."

Mara rezzed her baton and revved her engine. "Ready when you are 'Tron'. The Renegade nodded and took off with Dash, Copper, Link, Bartik, Hopper, Zed, and Mara following close behind.

Then they arrived at the warehouse, everything seemed fine. They derezzed their batons and walked inside. The Renegade sat down, exhausted from all of the events that cycle. Bartik and Hopper decided to go out to keep the Occupation from looking for the Renegade.

Mara walked over to the Renegade and knelt down beside him. She had noticed he had fallen asleep; he looked so quiet and peaceful. Mara carefully reached over the Renegade's shoulder to access his disk. His injuries were pretty bad, so she was going to see what she could do to help him.

She gently disconnected his disk, and held it in her hand. Mara was about to access his medical code, when Zed walked up behind her. "What are you doing?" Zed asked. Mara gasped and dropped the Renegade's disk in surprise.

The disk hit the ground; and instead of showing the Renegade's coding, it pulled up a memory. The memory was shown from the Renegade's eye-perspective. And it showed the Renegade running up a staircase and threw his shoulder into a door, forcing it open.

He jogged a few more steps before stopping at the edge of the rooftop. "You're just as persistent as I remember." A shadowy figure said, it was Cyrus. "I liked it better when I thought you were dead." The Renegade said.

Mara and Zed both glanced at each other with uncertainty. Cyrus smirked as he drew a white disk, activated it, and waved it teasingly into the air. "Did you lose something?" Cyrus teased. The Renegade tried to find a way to the other building's rooftop, but there was no way across. He looked back at the building that Cyrus stood on, but he was gone.

The memory faded into nothing, leaving Zed and Mara speechless.


	10. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

The Renegade woke up, he saw Mara working on his code, and Zed was watching her. "Hi." The Renegade said casually. Zed and Mara looked up. "Oh hi," Mara said pleasantly with a smile. "You okay?" The Renegade answered briefly. "Yeah, never better."

Mara cleared her throat nervously, the Renegade looked at her. "Are you guys okay?" He asked them. Zed and Mara glanced at each other briefly. "We need to confess something." Mara said. "Okay." The Renegade responded casually.

Mara looked up at the Renegade's masked face. "We know that you're not responsible for Able's death." The Renegade tilted his head slightly to the side. "Did you look at my memories or something?"

Mara looked at the Renegade's disk in her hand. "It wasn't on purpose, I was just going to access your code, and then Zed walked up from behind and unintentionally startled me, causing me to drop the disk." Mara looked back up. "A memory came up, showing you confronting Cyrus, who I assume is the one who killed Able."

The Renegade nodded. "Yeah, Cyrus is one… crazy program." Zed looked at the Renegade with a quizzical look. "Did he… by chance, also be the program that blew up that shop and terrorize the girl? Because in the memory, he had the suit."

Beck responded carefully. "That's my theory, he had the suit; and he seemed dedicated to throw my reputation off balance… yeah, he hates me." Mara asked him a question of her own. "What happened to make him hate you so much?"

"Er…" The Renegade obviously didn't want to talk about it. He strangely started fiddling with his wrists. "It's okay; you don't really have to tell us. All that matters is that we know that Cyrus is a threat." Her eyes widened. "I don't think Beck knows about Cyrus!" She said quickly looking at Zed, who also had a panicked expression on his face.

The Renegade quickly responded. "Oh no, don't panic! Beck already knows; if you haven't noticed, he never really liked Cyrus from the start." Zed and Mara relaxed a little.

The other rebels started to walk into the room they were in. "Hey guys!" Dash says almost immediately. "We didn't interrupt anything, did we?" Copper asks. The Renegade looks at Copper. "No, it's fine."

Everyone was crowded around the Renegade. Zed and Mara were quiet, working on the Renegade's code. "So, what's the plan?" Link asks. The Renegade glances at Zed and Mara briefly.

"Well, for starters," He said, getting up. "We need to stop and think for a moment, reflect on what's happened lately." Everyone stares at him strangely. The Renegade explains further.

"A lot has happened out of the usual for me, as it may have for everyone else and I, well... need to take time off to refresh myself and practice my combat and light cycle skills. It would also be very good for everyone's well-being."

Dash leans over to Mara. "Do you think you should check his disk to see if there's anything mentally wrong going on up here?" He asks while tapping his head with a finger. Mara glared at him, then shook her head. _He'll never understand._ She thought.

Zed shoots him a look. "He's still injured!" He says sharply. Dash abruptly backs up, and says. "Okay, take it easy." Mara quickly changes the subject. "Ha! Finally! You're completely healed." She says as she stands up and hands the Renegade's disk back.

"Um… thanks." The Renegade said as he docked his disk back into place. He glanced at everyone else before speaking. "I really do suggest that you all take a break, at least for a couple of cycles."

The Renegade backed up before rezzing his light cycle, leaving everyone in the warehouse; with questionable expressions on their faces.

"Well… the Renegade seemed a little more laid back than I expected." Dash commented before sitting down. Mara looked at Dash. "Didn't you hear a thing that 'Tron' just said? The odds are obviously not in his favor and he needs to take a break. Is that too much for him to ask for?!"

"Relax Mara." Zed said calmly while sitting next to her. "You and I both understand what the Renegade said and I'm sure the others understood **part** of what he said as well." He said as he shot Dash a sharp glance.

"Hey, I'm just a little suspicious of him." Dash said. "I think he's hiding something... something **big**."

…

Beck rode through the outlands. His white suit still glowed brightly from the white and teal-blue circuits. Like Tron suggested before he left, Beck was riding the light cycle course. This is now the third time he had ever ridden on this path.

The first two times didn't end well, which made Beck nervous. He was approaching the canyon quickly. Beck turned towards the ramp that Tron always used to jump the gorge. He felt the surge of excitement as he went airborne; he felt it all in slow motion.

He reached the other side and landed with a swerve, the way Tron always did. "Well, that was easier than I thought." And if Beck could manage jumping an oversized gorge, he couldn't even imagine the things he could accomplish later.


	11. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

Beck sat on a chair in his bedroom. It's only been two cycles since Tron left and things have been anything but good for Beck. It should be a good full cycle at the most, before Tron returns, unless something goes wrong… Beck pushes the thought away. Tron had agreed not to attract any attention to himself.

He was a little relieved that he was taking time off of being the Renegade. _At least Zed and Mara understood what I was talking about._ Beck thought. Like he mentioned before, he was reflecting on what has happened lately. Weird thing started to happen ever since Tron left.

Once again, out of nowhere, memories from his past came flooding back into his head and he could do nothing to stop them.

Beck rode through the streets of Neon. His hair was shorter and loose; not in the spiky, layered style he used now. It blew steadily in the breeze. His jumpsuit circuits were different as well, consisting of the recognizable gang attire.

He wasn't a mechanic at the time; he was part of a gang called The Crims (short for criminals). The Crims were very well known, especially in Neon. Beck was heading towards the building where he always met the rest of the gang.

Beck suddenly hit the brakes. He had heard someone scream, it was a girl. He derezzed his bike back into a baton and ran towards where he heard the girl.

She was handcuffed and cornered in an alleyway with two guys holding her down. She was beautiful, Beck couldn't stop staring. She had dark curved eyebrows and thick eyelashes, her eyes were dark blue, with a small nose and pointed chin.

Her hair was almost shoulder length and perfectly straight, with a mildly choppy haircut at the tips, blonde, with almost an inch of the tips dyed a very vibrant red.

Suddenly, one of her attackers drew his disk and held it close to her neck, she looked petrified. The program said something to her that Beck couldn't hear. He didn't care what the program was saying; no one should treat her like that.

Beck drew and activated his disk, then confronted the two men. She saw Beck coming, but avoided looking at him directly so the two programs wouldn't suspect anything.

Beck crept up and knocked out both programs with ease, and then he looked down at the girl. She looked relieved that he saved her, yet she looked slightly afraid of him. "Are you hurt?" Beck asked as he helped her up.

"No, I'm okay." She said as Beck severed her cuffs. "Thank you, for saving me, though." Beck smiled at her. "No problem, anything for a damsel in distress." She giggled. "I love your sense of humor."

They walked down the streets together. After Beck had saved the girl, he had seemed to win her over. She had told him that she works at the club as a DJ. Beck found that interesting, he had never seen her around before.

"I moved here recently." She said, and shrugged it off. "There's a lot more in my programming than music, but it's my passion." Beck had liked her from the moment he had laid eyes on her, and she seemed to trust him.

Beck felt he could trust her as well, but then again, he's a Crim. And Crims aren't very trust worthy; they take very beautiful girls and terrorize them like the two guys did to her. If Beck told her that he was a Crim, it would all be over.

They stopped walking; they had arrived at the club. "Well this is where we part, for now. Oh! I never got your name." She said with a smile. He swallowed. "Beck, my name is Beck."

Her smile grew wider. "Well, it was nice to meet you… Beck." She turned and walked into the club. Beck turned, and rezzed his bike. He stopped at the warehouse where he meets with the other members of the gang. He sighed and leaned against the door.

One thought crept into his mind, one that he was unfamiliar with. He was in **love**.

Beck snapped back to reality, in the present time. How long was he day dreaming? He shook his head, turned and headed out his bedroom door. He walked down the stairs, looking for Zed and Mara. He needed someone to talk to, to take his mind off the past.

They weren't home though. _That's funny._ Beck thought. _They should be in here, it's almost Curfew._ He ran outside, searching for them frantically. He wasn't about to repeat what had happened just a cycle before.

Beck suddenly had an idea of where Zed and Mara were. He rezzed his bike and headed for the club. He knew he had to act fast before they were all caught for breaking Curfew.

Zed and Mara were standing outside the club, talking to The Librarian. Beck ran over to them. "What are you guys doing out here? We need to get home before we're all pursued for breaking Curfew!"

The Librarian glanced at Beck, and then turned back to Zed and Mara. "I actually agree with this program here. We should all go home, before we get into trouble."

Zed and Mara looked at Beck. "Alright then, let's go before we're all caught." Mara said as she rezzed her bike. Zed and Beck did the same as they rode through the streets, racing against time, and trying to reach their apartment before Curfew started.

But they were too late. The speakers were booming that same computer voice. "The curfew is for your protection, and the safety of your fellow programs." The voice said that over and over again. Curfew had already started, and they were now caught in the mayhem.

Then suddenly, blinding light flooded over the trio of friends. "Halt programs! You're in violation of Curfew, surrender immediately!" Beck grumbled. "Oh look, this day just got better."

Then, light cycles started tailing them. _This is going to get interesting._ Beck's thoughts were interrupted when another light cycle came out of nowhere, cutting off Beck, Zed, and Mara. None of them had time to pull their breaks before their light cycles were derezzed.

They all put on their masks and drew their disks. Zed and Mara haven't seen Beck fight since the disk games they played, which resulted with Bodhi's death. Beck turned towards his friends. "You guys alright?" Zed and Mara briefly nodded. "Yeah, we're okay."

They were all quickly surrounded, but Beck won't go down without a fight. Several guards pounced on each of them, more than they could all handle. Zed and Mara were subdued easily.

Beck threw a couple punches here and there. Then he kicked one guard aside before he was tackled, more guards came and pinned Beck to the ground. They swiftly hacked into Beck's system, deactivating his mask.

They flipped Beck onto his stomach, twisted his arms behind his back, and cuffed him before he could even try to wriggle out of their grasp. Black guards pulled Beck onto his feet roughly and boarded him onto a recognizer, along with his friends.

He knew where they were going, as did Zed and Mara. They were being taken to the Coliseum, where they would battle for survival. Beck was going to fight in The Games… **again!**


	12. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

"Welcome to the Coliseum." The computer voice boomed throughout the building. "This is going to get interesting." Said Mara. Zed quickly added. "The Renegade picked a great cycle to be taking time off."

Beck rolled his eyes. "Don't worry; we can make it through this on our own." Zed and Mara looked at him, with mild confidence on their faces. "Beck's right, we might just make it." Mara said.

The recognizer landed and the three friends climbed out along with their other fellow prisoners. They were placed in line side by side. The sirens came out and equipped everyone with battle armor and backed away into the shadows.

Zed began to panic as the platform began to rise. Mara turned towards her scared friend and spoke to him with a soothing voice. "Calm down Zed, we'll make it through this, together." Zed nodded slightly and faced forward.

The platform kept rising, and the ceiling opened up and blinding light flooded into their eyes.

…

Paige stood by Tesler; Pavel was on the other side. She was so ashamed that she and Pavel failed to capture the Renegade. They were both working together… they were so close!

The Renegade was injured and Paige had him in handcuffs, she was so close to finally winning, and she lost… again.

The Games were about to begin, Paige looked back up. The platform slowly rose out of the floor. Her eyes widened, Tesler and Pavel may not have remembered this particular program, but she did… and she'll never forget. _It's Beck!_

For a moment, she could only stand and stare. _What did he do now, to get here?_ Paige liked Beck a lot, and she really cared about him, but she couldn't do anything to help Beck get out without Tesler's authorization.

If Paige did anything unauthorized, she would be considered a criminal and be thrown back into the games as well. There was nothing that Paige could do for Beck. She felt helpless.

…

Everyone's restraints faded away and disappeared. Beck rubbed his wrists briefly, before drawing his disk and preparing to fight. Zed and Mara did the same a few moments afterward.

Beck quickly glanced up at the platform where Tesler, Pavel, and Paige were. He looked closer; he could have sworn that Paige was looking at him too. She looked sad… and a little sympathetic.

Beck looked at the other platforms holding their opponents. He turned towards his friends. "Stay close to me, and you'll be fine." They both nodded. Zed looked unsure. "But… what if we don't make it?" Beck looked at Zed and gripped his shoulder in a comforting matter. "Don't say that! We're going to make it, one way or another."

The black guards jumped onto their platform and The Games have begun. Beck knocked aside every hit thrown at him with ease, Tron had trained him well.

Before Beck even realized it, the round ended, and the disk battle concluded. There were no more guards left to fight. The platform slowly lowered to the ground. Beck looked at his fellow survivors.

His friends have all made it, like Beck told them. There were also some other random programs that have made it as well. The next thing they knew, they were locked in holding cells. The guards shoved Beck into a cell with Zed and Mara.

They all exhaled with relief, and then they all started to giggle. They all made it, not to mention how much excitement they had. It was all exhilarating!

Beck stopped laughing and looked around. _There has to be some way to break out of here._ He managed to bust out of the Coliseum twice. The first time, Paige caught up and subdued Beck and Cutler, but the second time was a success when Beck ran away, alongside Paige.

Paige probably won't even come by to see him, not that it would matter. Paige had told Beck that she couldn't be with him; she said that he was a distraction. _A distraction!_

Beck stood up and paced the cell, working on a perfect plan to escape. He had some tools, a new recoder to replace the one that Tron wrecked. _Thanks a lot Tron!_ Beck thought sarcastically.

He turned around to explain to Zed and Mara as to how they were going to escape. But before Beck could begin, a large explosion shook the entire Coliseum; Beck fell over from the shock.

The bomb that just exploded had destroyed the energy directors, which caused all the cell walls to disintegrate; all the prisoners in the Coliseum were free!

And things were about to get more interesting. Beck looked for the culprit who set off the bomb and found him almost immediately, and he was looking at Beck as well.

He was masked, gloved, and his suit was black with very few white circuits. Beck stared at him in amazement. _Wow, it's Tron! And he's surprisingly on time! … Even though it's a totally different location than planned._

Beck didn't stare for long though. Tesler's soldiers and sentries were coming quickly, trying to keep the rouge programs from escaping. The black figure ran up to Beck, Zed, and Mara; and he tossed them all batons. "Let's go!" He said.

Beck didn't question him and rezzed the bike, following the dark program. Zed and Mara came too, after a moment's hesitation.

When they all got to safety by the docks, Zed sat down by Beck to recover from what just happened. Beck grinned at their savior. Mara stood a distance away from the program. "Who are you?" She asked. "And why did you save **us**?"

In response, the program slid his mask off of his face. The trio of friends just stared at him, not believing their eyes. Standing in front of them, was an all too familiar program they knew.

Mara said something under her breath. Zed kept staring. Beck shouted excitedly. "You're alive! It's a miracle! We all thought you were dead!"

He grinned. "You all thought that? You- of all programs I know- should have realized it's hard to get rid of me, especially you, Beck." Beck just smiled. "It's good to see you again… Able."


	13. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

Everyone sat down, taking in everything Able said. He explained how he survived the explosion that supposedly killed him, and added what happened afterwards.

"Obviously, I managed to pry the bombs off my hands at the last second and got as far away from them as possible. Even though I survived, the explosion knocked me unconscious. I would have drowned in the sea if a medic hadn't saved me and brought me to a medical facility."

Able's story was quite adventurous, in its own way; it was also a little funny. Beck liked the part when Able explained that the medic wouldn't let him leave the clinic until he had completely recovered, which was his excuse for not returning sooner.

"So what's been happening after I was gone?" Able asked. "Besides being in the games." Mara explained everything. "Oh Able, it was really exciting, you should have been there! It all started when the Renegade crashed this huge super recognizer just outside the garage."

"Oh really?" Able said as he shot a playful, accusing look at Beck. "Yes! It was incredible, and when Pavel ordered his soldiers to derez him, everyone in the Garage, including Zed and me, stood in their way and rebelled." Beck finished for Mara. "And that was the start of the Uprising."

Able looked at them with uncertainty. "And then what happened?" He asked while catching Beck's eye. Beck looked at the ground and answered. "Everyone got fired." Beck said in defeat.

Able shook his head, standing up. "I'm not sure what encouraged you all to do something like that. I'm going to try to put things back to normal. And I'll start by getting the Garage back. Hopefully afterward, things can go back to normal, like it never happened." Able said while shooting Beck another look.

Suddenly, just as fast as Able appeared, he was gone, riding away on his light bike. The last thing they heard Able say was. "Be careful out there!" Only Beck completely understood what that meant.

Able wasn't the same, he was… different. But then again, Able has always acted different ever since he found out that Beck was the Renegade. And Able knew that Tron was alive_. Oh jeez! Tron is still gone!_

He should have been back by now, to meet him at… oh yeah… the docks. Zed and Mara are still here. Of course Tron wouldn't come out until it's just him and Beck.

_Think fast Beck._ He thought_._ "Zed, Mara, it's still past Curfew, don't you think you should be heading home before we're caught again?" They nodded. "Yeah, I suppose, but aren't you coming?"

Beck quickly responded. "Don't worry, I'll follow soon… I'll be right behind you. I just need some time alone, to process what's just happened tonight."

His friends nodded. "Alright Beck, sure thing. Just… be careful, okay?" Beck watched Zed and Mara carefully as they rezzed their bikes and rode off.

Beck turned around and closed his eyes, waiting, expecting Tron to step out now that they were alone. He felt like he was being watched, that someone was here and Beck wasn't alone.

Suddenly, he heard footsteps close behind him. Beck turned around but abruptly stopped, shocked. Standing not that far behind him was the last program he expected to see.

"Hello Beck" A gentle, feminine voice said. "It's been a while." Beck stopped staring, looked the program in the eye, and put on a natural smile.

It wasn't that hard to smile at her, because he was very happy to see her. In fact, he thought the next time he would see this girl; she would be gladly kicking his butt until he was brought to justice. "Yeah, it's been too long… Paige.


	14. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

Beck was wondering why Paige was here, but she seemed to read his mind about that. "I'm so glad you're safe, and I'm sorry that I didn't do anything to help you back in the Coliseum. I… sort of felt guilty, so I followed you to the docks to apologize. I haven't seen you for so long… I've missed you."

What Paige said brought a smile to Beck's face. _Maybe I was wrong the whole time, perhaps she really isn't a lost cause. After all, the uprising could use a helping hand._ Beck looked at Paige, his smile getting wider.

Paige smiled warmly back, and suddenly said something else. "Beck, when I said that I couldn't be with you and that you were nothing but a distraction, I was wrong, and I know I was wrong. You were actually more like just another program to have fun with."

Beck's confidence grew more, and more. But Beck was letting his guard down, and because of what Paige said next Beck thought he might derez. "I want to spend a lot of time with you, I will again, but I can be with you for even longer once the Renegade is caught and brought to justice."

Beck's smile turned into a quizzical expression. "What specifically, are your feelings about the Renegade?" That question caught Paige off guard, she looked away slightly. "It's sort of personal… and a little complicated."

Beck took Paige's face in his hands; gently he turned her towards him again, giving her eye contact. "Paige, if it's secretive, I promise that I would never tell anyone.

Paige sighed. "If Tesler ever found out what I'm about to tell you, I'll get derezzed or thrown into The Games for sure." Beck looked at her encouragingly.

"Okay. The Renegade is destructive, chaotic, annoying, and…" Beck caught her eye. "And?" He encouraged. Paige let a nervous laugh.

"It gets regrettably bad. When I look at him, I find him curiously… interesting. He is somewhat friendly face to face, maybe handsome, and well, he flirts with me sometimes." Beck grinned mischievously. "Oh really? Wait, what do you mean handsome?"

Paige looked at Beck with a smirk on her face. "Well… I could most certainly imagine you behind the mask." Beck bursted out laughing then looked at Paige with a serious expression. "You're kidding, right?"

Paige shook her head, which made Beck, stop cold. She took a few steps closer to him. "No, I know it's you who was causing all that trouble. You act no different behind the mask than you do now."

Beck was literally speechless; he didn't know what to say. Thinking quickly, Beck played dumb. "What are you talking about?" This time Paige broke out laughing, and didn't stop.

"Oh man, you should have seen the look on your face! You actually thought I wasn't kidding! Hahahahaha!" Beck quickly recovered. "Yeah, I wish I saw the look on my face." Paige looked back at Beck. "Oh don't worry, I've got it on my disk, I'll show you anytime you want me to."

Beck changed the subject. "You know, I probably should be heading home soon before I'm caught breaking Curfew, again." Paige nodded. "Right, I'll go and buy you enough time to head home unseen."

Paige backed off into the shadows, turned, and smiled at Beck. She did like Beck and wanted to be with him, she truly did, but right now wasn't a good time. The Renegade is first priority and has to be caught before Paige spends her free time with Beck.

Beck smiled one last time at Paige one last time before she completely disappeared. When he knew she was gone, he started pacing nervously, thinking. _What is wrong with me? Since when did Paige ever want to join me and fight for the uprising?_

Beck's thoughts were interrupted when he thought he heard something. He stopped pacing and looked up. Standing right in front of him this time, was Tron. "Oh great! **Now** you appear. Where in users name have you been? You're late."


	15. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

Beck stood where he was, folding his arms and waiting for Tron's response. Tron, playfully mimicking Beck, folded his arms across his chest as well. "I'm aware that I'm late, but I had to stick around in Tron City for a while longer in order to hear Clu's plan for Argon… and you."

Beck was confused, but quickly understood what his mentor had just told him. "Oh right, because I'm wearing the suit and-" Tron interrupted him. "No Beck, not your freedom fighting alter ego, he wants the ordinary you, your mechanic self."

This puzzled Beck. "But why?" Tron explained calmly. "Because Clu knows that you're involved in the uprising. Do you remember when your friend Cutler was captured and repurposed?" Beck looked down in sorrow. "Yeah."

"It didn't require a genius to figure it out, but I heard Dyson say something about scanning every program's disk before they are repurposed. It's part of the process now. Clu and Dyson know that you know about the rebellion… maybe even me."

Tron continued. "They are going to depart and head for Argon soon to take care of 'business'. When they arrive, you are the first citizen they'll take in for interrogation. They want to know how much you know about me, and how you're involved in the revolution."

Beck sighed; he needed to sit down to take it all in. Tron tilted his head slightly. What were you and Ms. Commander talking about? Beck shifted side to side nervously. "Err… well-"

Tron had a feeling as to what Beck might say. He held up his hand, cutting him off and stopping him from talking. "You know what? Never mind, I don't want to hear it, I think I know what you're going to say. Just don't bother."

Tron turned and walked away. "I'll be in the hideout, and remember to be careful and watch your step. There could be guards anywhere, waiting to seize you and take you to Clu. And trust me, you don't want that."

Tron took a few more steps, shaking his head. He muttered something about 'young program hormones jeez' and 'it's disgusting'. He jumped, rezzed his bike, and disappeared from Beck's field of view.

Beck sighed with relief. _Great, things finally are looking up for me now. Able's alive and Tron came back alive and unharmed._ Beck had to get home before he got caught again for breaking Curfew.

Beck turned, rezzed his bike, and sped home. If Beck's not being pursued because Paige is distracting her squad, she's doing a really good job.

He sighed, reflecting on what's happened lately with Zed, Mara, Able, Tron, the other resistors… and himself. That girl keeps creeping back into his head. Beck once again felt the passionate, happy, yet sad memories come back.

Beck was in the Crim's warehouse. While he was sitting and waiting to hear what will happen next, he kept thinking about the cute blonde girl he had met earlier. An unimportant thought struck him, he never asked for her name.

Beck snapped back to reality when the Guy of the gang announced that they're not causing chaos as a group and trouble making was free for all. In other words, it meant you're on your own, there's nothing exciting for tonight.

Beck went out and closed the door behind him. He sighed, looking down. Who was he kidding? Sometimes Beck felt like he didn't belong here. He found himself useful with repairing vehicles, but he didn't mention it to the rest of the gang.

Besides, the rest of the Crims were so high, strong, and crazy. Not to mention that they were so hardcore, they liked to dive headfirst into any kind of situation. In comparison, Beck was careful, such a softie, but he was a little crazy. He was nothing like the others.

He started thinking of the girl again, she had told Beck that she works at the club. He rezzed his bike and sped off to the club that he dropped her off at.

When he arrived, he derezzed his bike back into a baton. He walked towards the entrance then he stopped and listened. He heard music, it was very different. She has to be the one playing it, it was new, just like her.

When Beck entered, he saw her playing her music. Like the other DJ's, she wore sunglasses that concealed her eyes to make her less recognizable. Beck spotted her easily. Her hair made her stand out beautifully, but her eyes were the most Enchanting.

When her shift ended, she looked over and saw Beck sitting at the bar. She smiled and walked over to him. "Excuse me, but I'm looking for someone and- Oh! Never mind, I've found him." She tapped him on the head.

Beck looked up and smiled at her, she smiled fondly back. He noticed she had taken off her sunglasses. She spoke. "Should we go for a walk?" Beck looked at her and noticed her eyes began to sparkle.

He smiled at her. "Of course, I could use some fresh air myself." She looked at Beck and smiled with her big sparkly blue eyes. She was so beautiful; Beck felt he could get lost in her eyes for cycles.

They headed for the entrance and Beck stopped and held out his hand to let her out first. "After you… um…" Her eyes widened even more and spoke quickly. "Oh! I'm sorry, how rude of me. I never told you my name."

She held out her hand for Beck to shake. "Ally… my name is Ally." Beck smiled at her warmly. "I look forward to being with you… Ally."

Beck sighed, gradually coming back to reality. He was almost home, just a few blocks away. He wondered if he should talk to someone about his memories suddenly coming back. He shook his head. _It's probably better if no one knew that I had problems._ Beck decided to keep his thoughts to himself, for now.

Beck arrived at the front door and walked in. He strode past Zed's room, then Mara's until he stopped at his closed bedroom door. He walked in and the door closed again behind him.

_What a night._ Beck thought as he lay down on the bed and closed his eyes. Ever since Tron was healed, things were starting to get harder, busier, not to mention **weirder**.

Beck can't even remember the last time he had thought about Ally… besides Bodhi's death. When he died, Beck had thought about her, but only briefly. She had never lingered in his mind like she does now.

Remembering Ally meant something, he was sure of it… and Beck was determined to figure it out.


	16. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

It was the start of another cycle when Beck's eyelids fluttered open. He heard something going on in the living room. Whatever it was, it sure was exciting because he could hear Mara talking all the way from his bedroom.

Beck left his room and walked down the stairs, heading straight for the living room. He turned around the corner and saw Able standing and talking to Zed and Mara, whom seemed very happy… wait no, ecstatic.

"What's going on?" Beck asked as he slowly entered the room. The three programs looked at Beck, all smiling. Mara spoke first. "Beck, good news! Able got the Garage back and rehired everyone that got fired." Beck smiled. "That is good news." He said.

Able looked at the trio of friends and spoke. "Well take your time gathering your belongings and come to the Garage when you're ready to get back to work." He turned and walked out of the apartment, shutting the door gently behind him.

Mara turned and looked at Beck. "Well, are you going to get back to work?" Beck responded. "Of course, maybe part-time." Zed raised an eyebrow. "Well go get your stuff; we're moving back into our old dormitories."

"Sounds cozy." Beck said as he walked back to his bedroom to go get his stuff. Once he had everything, he ran back downstairs, took out his baton, and rezzed his bike, following Zed and Mara.

"This is fantastic! After I thought Able was dead, I never even dreamed that things could return to normal… or at least be close to the way things were." Beck looked at Mara. "What do you mean?" He asked.

Mara looked at Beck. "Well, I'm still going to fight for the revolution, and support the Renegade as best as I can." Zed added. "When he decides to come back that is. No pressure for him, he needs to have a break once in a while."

Beck smiled to himself. _It's always good to have a break, and that's just what I need right now._ He closed his eyes briefly. Suddenly, another memory popped back into his head.

Beck walked beside Ally through the streets of Neon. "Where are we going?" Beck asked, showing his curiosity. Ally looked at Beck and smiled playfully. "You'll see." She responded in a golden voice.

Beck couldn't stop admiring this girl. Every little feature about her- especially her eyes- were all so elegant and beautiful. Even every move she made was graceful, but at the same time, there was something about her that he had a hard time describing.

She looked at Beck, her eyes sparkling with excitement. "Come on, race you!" She shouted over her shoulder as she abruptly took off running. Beck paused in surprise, and then he followed, catching up quickly. "Hey! Wait up!" He shouted after her.

She glanced behind her shoulder to look at Beck and gave him a mischievous grin, and kept going. He realized later that she was heading for the city's docks, but she was taking a different route. "Wait Ally, hold on! There's only a drop-off at the end, you'll fall!"

Ally seemed to pay no attention to what he said, and she ran faster towards the edge. _Well, it's official… she's crazy!_ Beck thought as he ran faster, trying to catch her before she fell into the sea. He didn't grab her in time. She reached the edge and jumped, diving headfirst into the sea.

Beck stopped at the edge, shocked. _Did Ally seriously just jump headlong into the sea?_ He scanned the dark water, searching for her. He sighed with relief when he saw Ally rise out of the water and raise her fist in the air.

She looked up and smiled at Beck. "You should come in, the water's really refreshing." Beck just stared at her. Ally's smile faded. "What's wrong?" She asked. Beck finally spoke up. "You should get out of there. I heard rumors that Clu poisoned the Sea of Simulation to stop the ISO's from reproducing. The toxins could damage your code."

Ally simply laughed at his assumption. "That was a long time ago, besides, I tested the water myself. The scanning proved that it was safe. Anyways, the kind of poison Clu used only affected the ISO's reproduction. You'll be just fine, jump in!" Her smile quickly returned.

Beck didn't move. "I… don't know how to swim." Ally's eyes began to sparkle again. "I'll teach you. It's really easy." Her smile got wider as reassurance. Beck quickly returned the smile. "… Okay. I'm coming in!" He took a running start and jumped. Closing his eyes, he splashed into the sea.

He felt Ally grip his arm, gently pulling him up to the surface of the water. Beck gasped and opened his eyes, Ally smiled. "I can see you **are** new to this. First, kick your legs to keep yourself from sinking and paddle your arms to steer."

Beck listened and did what she said. He started to kick his legs and paddle his arms while Ally slowly let go. "There, see you're doing it." Beck grinned at her. "The users call what you're doing dog paddling. That's not even the best way to swim! Dip your head underwater, and you'll see."

Ally once again disappeared under the water's surface, and Beck followed quickly. It was incredible when he held his breath and feeling the water caress his entire body every time he moved. Beck eventually had to come up for air though.

He broke the water's surface, breathing hard. Ally was already next to him, smiling. "So, how was it?" She asked smoothly. Beck looked at her, he was also grinning. "That was amazing! I've never experienced anything like it!" Beck breathed, slowly calming down. "I loved it." He eventually said.

She exhaled, closing her eyes. "I had a feeling you would. You sometimes just need a little push, that's all." Ally playfully splashed Beck with water. Beck gasped and recovered, then he splashed her back. He looked at Ally, whom was smirking. She stuck her tongue out at him childishly, and started to swim away.

Beck followed. "Now, how do we get out?" He asked. Ally looked worried. "I don't know. Looks like we're going to be stuck out here, until we're found. And we'll be in so much trouble." Beck was shocked. "What?!" Ally suddenly bursted out laughing.

"Just kidding! Man, you should have seen the look on your face! You actually thought we'd be stuck out here." Beck looked at Ally. "So how do we get out of here?" Ally glanced around and swam towards a cargo boat that was fastened to a dock. Connected to the dock, was a ladder.

"Every dock has a ladder." She quickly explained as she climbed up. "In case someone actually fell in by accident. In fact, almost no program knows how to swim now." She turned and held her hand out to Beck to help him up. He glanced nervously at it. Ally giggled. "It's okay, it's just a hand."

Beck was still uncertain. As a rule, when you're a criminal, especially part of the Crim's clique, you can't trust anyone. On the other hand, he was different from the others. _Maybe change is good._ He thought. He lifted his hand and gingerly grasped hers.

_Maybe it's time I did have someone to trust._ Ally pulled Beck onto the dock. They were still a little wet, but they were both happy… and they **were** refreshed. They started to walk away from the docks, side by side… and holding hands.

Beck snapped back to reality. They were almost at the garage. When he got to his dorm, he unpacked everything and put it in its usual spot. Lastly, he put the half disk in its old place on the underside of a shelf.

Beck walked back to his bedroom at the garage. He really missed this place, to be honest with himself. He always remembered the good times here. He'll never forget anything in his life forever… especially Ally.

It was always painful to remember Ally, but he didn't feel guilty for never completely forgetting her. He smiled to himself. Ally was the one who taught Beck how to swim, and that was one of the most valued times in his life… for now.

Little did Beck know that there was much more to come. ; )


	17. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

Beck turned his recoder in his hands, studying its structure and firmness. He then applied his usual grip and plugged it into another broken lightbike. "Hey Beck!" Beck looked up at Able. "Yes?"

"May I speak with you for a moment?" Beck quickly glanced around. "Yeah, sure. That's fine." He knew that Able wanted to talk to him about what was **really** going on. Beck sighed, putting down his recoder, and headed toward Able's office.

Able sat at his desk. "Have a seat." Able said. Beck sat down in the closest chair and looked his boss in the eye. "What?" Beck asked. Able leaned forward, resting his arms on his desk. "I actually want to be better informed on what happened when I was gone."

Beck took a deep breath, he would need it. Then he started talking. "Well, a lot has happened lately, I can only tell you the biggest events that have occurred when you were gone. First of all, Tron's healed of all his scars and he doesn't need the healing chamber anymore and- well, it blew up anyway."

Able looked at Beck, confused. "Wait Beck, slow down. What do you mean Tron is healed?" Beck restarted, slower this time. "Okay, dealing with Cyrus was more than Tron could handle. Sometime after you supposedly died, Tron's scars err… started to eat him alive."

Able's eyes widened while Beck continued. "The only way to heal Tron was to have him repurposed on a super recognizer. After he was healed, but not repurposed yet, I interrupted the procedure and we both got away just fine."

Able nodded, smiling. He was clearly happy that Tron was completely healed. Then he spoke again. "Beck, what was Mara saying about the coworkers rebelling alongside the Renegade?" The question made Beck tense slightly. He quickly recovered and answered.

"After the super recognizer crashed, Pavel- who took over the garage- ordered his guards to confront and derez me. That was when Mara stood in their way, then Zed, Dash, Copper, Link, and the others joined. Even Bartik and Hopper joined in on the crowd."

Able just looked at Beck for a moment, then he spoke. "Okay, things have apparently gotten more exciting. Hopefully, things won't suddenly go from bad to worse." Able paused, looking back at Beck. "You can get back to fixing that lightcycle."

Beck nodded. "Okay." He said, while leaving the office. Beck returned to the vehicle he was fixing and he reapplied his protective gear. He pulled out his recoder, threw it up in the air and caught it again. Beck sighed, as he plugged it back into the bike.

_It's good to be back._ He thought as he made all the necessary repairs. Life was getting better, easier even, for Beck now; and he hoped that it would last.

When his shift ended, Beck walked into the elevator. He was going upstairs to his room again. Beck opened the door, turned on the lights, and sat on his bed.

He lay down, closing his eyes; not falling asleep, but he was thinking about how Ally is related to the present. Then, more memories came flooding back.

Beck walked Ally home. He really enjoyed their night together. He wasn't sure if they were dating now, or what; but he did know that they were holding hands, their fingers intertwined with each other's.

They stopped in front of a building. "Here we are." She said, walking forward toward a door and opening it. "Aren't you coming?" Ally asked while she stood by the open door, waiting for him.

Her question caught Beck off guard. "What?" He asked. Ally smiled at Beck. "It won't take long." She promised. Beck shrugged. "Okay." He said cautiously. Beck followed his new friend through the door and into her apartment.

He glanced around the 'not too shabby' room. It actually looked cozy… and really neat. Beck looked over at Ally; she was standing in front of a mirror, fixing her hair. "It got a little messy from the water." She said.

When she was done, she turned towards Beck. "How would you feel about having a makeover?" She asked. Beck looked at her, confused. Ally rolled her eyes in amusement. "A new appearance." She explained. Beck nodded. "Let's see what you can do."

Ally smiled as Beck walked over and stood in front of a mirror. She looked at Beck head to toe and bit her lip; she could do so much to change his looks. Then she spoke. "Okay, close your eyes, and don't peek until I say so."

Beck cautiously obeyed. "Okay, now what do I do?" She glanced up at Beck's face. "Nothing, just stand there, I'll let you know when I'm done." Beck trembled slightly. He wasn't used to giving this much trust, let alone any trust at all. This was all so new.

Ally gently took Beck's disk off his back and activated his suit's coding. She toggled with switches here and there, and then hit a couple of buttons. In no time, she placed Beck's disk back into its holder, and spoke again.

"Okay, turn around and open your eyes." Beck was confused. If he turned around, he would no longer be facing the mirror. But Ally was a good program who seemed to know what she was doing.

Beck didn't question her. He turned around and slowly opened his eyes. Ally smiled warmly at him, Beck smiled back. She bit her lip again. "Now, let's see what we can do with your hair… if that's okay." She looked Beck in the eye for his authorization. He nodded. "Yeah, it's fine."

Ally grinned. "Okay let's see here, what should I do? Oh! I've got an idea!" Ally rested her hands on Beck's flat, dark hair. She swooped the back strands forward and arranged it into sharp layers in the upper right side in the front of Beck's head.

She stepped back, admiring her handiwork. "There, you can turn around now." Beck grinned at her and turned around to see the 'new him'. Beck gasped. He looked just like an ordinary program. His hair was arranged in neat, layers in the front, upper right side. That looked pretty good.

He looked at the new circuit design on his outfit. Instead of the white and red gang circuitry designs, his suit was white, and a soft light blue. The design was perfectly symmetrical, reflecting from one side to another. He loved his new look. (Beck's new look is the same as it looks in the present time.)

"So… what do you think?" Ally asked shyly as she bit her lip again. Beck turned towards her. "I-I… I love it." He said, smiling at Ally. She embraced him in a comforting hug. "Thank you." She said.

Upon impulse, Beck lifted Ally's chin and gently kissed her full on the mouth. He could hear her gasp and blink surprisingly a few times. This may be the first time Beck actually caught her off guard. Beck was about to pull away, when Ally wrapped her hands around his neck and pulled him closer, kissing him back.

Beck could feel something tingle up and down his back, all over his body. He liked it. They pulled away from each other to come back up for air. They both smiled at each other for a moment, and then Beck turned away in embarrassment. "Sorry." He said bashfully. Ally giggled. "It's okay." She said.

After looking in the mirror one last time, he remembered that he was supposed to meet up with the rest of the Crims at the warehouse now. He took a step back, glancing at Ally for a moment.

"I'm sorry." Beck said. "I'm late." He started to rush out of the door when Ally grabbed his arm. "Beck, wait." She said soothingly. "I know that you're part of the Crim's clique, I'm not stupid." Beck looked Ally in the eye.

"I know, I'm not going to be part of their clique anymore, trust me." Ally looked even more frightened from what Beck just said. "I trust you enough but you have to listen, that gang is harsher than you know. No one breaks away from the group and lives to tell the tale."

Beck turned to face Ally. Her eyes were full of panic and sympathy. "I'll be fine, don't worry." He assured her. "I'll just tell them that I'm no longer one of them." Then, he ran out the door before Ally could say anything more.

He sped on his lightbike through Neon, heading for the warehouse. Once he arrived, he derezzed his bike back into a baton and walked inside, then stopped. Everyone was staring at him. From the looks he got, anyone would think that he killed the leader of the group.

He shifted uncomfortably under all the pairs of eyes looking at him. "Beck!" The guy of the group called over to him. "What are you wearing? And your hair! You should look in the mirror right now." He started to laugh.

Beck's expression hardened. "Look, I'm not going to be part of this anymore. I'm not one of you and I never really was." Everyone's jaws dropped from what Beck just said. Beck was beginning to think Ally was right. They probably won't let him leave this place, alive.

The Guy's facial expression suddenly turned angry. He started to walk towards Beck and he drew his disk, Beck quickly did the same as he backed away slowly.

The Guy tossed his activated disk in the air playfully a couple of times and spoke. "You know, I don't think you knew this right off the bat, but very few programs decide to leave this gang. And those that do," He threw his disk at Beck, who quickly ducked, and he got shoved against the wall. "-get derezzed." The Guy finished.

Two programs walked up to Beck. One grabbed his disk to change his outfit back to his gang design. The other messed up Beck's hair and put it back into its flat, dull style. Beck knew exactly why they did that. The Guy practically spoke his mind. "Once a Crim, always a Crim."

He placed his disk against Beck's neck and sighed. "Oh, it just slipped my mind. About that girl you started hanging out with." He tightened his grip on Beck in sudden hatred and annoyance.

The Guy continued. "She isn't part of a clique, and she doesn't get along with us very well. She's such a softie." He said with disgust as he raised his disk backward, about to strike. Out of the blue, Beck found a sudden urge to fight.

He lifted his fist and punched The Guy in the nose, and then he made a run for the door. The door was open, but a girl stood in his way. Beck wouldn't let that stop him. He kept running, then he slid between her legs on his knees.

Beck stood up immediately after and looked around, then he rezzed his bike and sped off. Beck found his new destination, he was going to the club. Ally's shift should have started by now. He pushed his bike to go faster, surprisingly, he wasn't being pursued.

He had a feeling things were going to go from bad to worse. Beck had to find Ally, and get both of them out of the city. _Maybe head to some sort of undisturbed, free city._ He thought. Beck knew he couldn't leave Ally behind, the Crims would go after her, and they'll derez her in an act of vengeance for Beck.

The thought made him shudder, and Beck pushed his bike to maximum speed. He was almost at the club. When he arrived, he saw Ally playing her music, smiling. She was always so beautiful, especially when she was happy.

Ally looked up and saw Beck. She smiled at him, she looked relieved that Beck wasn't killed, and she was just plain happy to see him again. Ally switched her music to automatic and rushed over to greet Beck. He took her in his arms and they kissed for the second time.

Beck felt that rush inside him again, and he could feel Ally shaking. He pulled her away from him. "Are you okay?" He asked. Ally shook her head. "No, I was worried sick. I was afraid that I would never see you again."

Beck hugged her. "I'm fine, don't worry, I'm right here." Ally looked up into Beck's soft brown eyes and smiled. "I'm happy that I didn't see you for the last time." Beck grinned. "I'm not going down that easy."

Ally blew a strand of hair out of her eyes and spoke. "So, I guess the Crims are going to come for us after their failure to kill you." Beck sighed. "Yeah, grab your bags, I'm not going to give them the satisfaction of killing you."

Ally nodded. "So, where should we go?" Beck thought for a moment, he knew the perfect place for them. "Purgos!" He said. Ally's eyebrows lifted in shock. "Purgos, are you serious?" Beck quickly explained. "Don't worry, the Crims think that I'm a good citizen now, they'll never suspect it!"

Ally took it under consideration. "Well, it is one of the last few cities on the grid from Clu's clutches… okay." Beck smiled. "Okay, go get your stuff. We'll leave for Purgos as soon as possible." Ally turned around. "Okay, I'll let my boss know that I quit." She said as she grabbed the music equipment that belonged to her.

Ally ran towards Beck. "Okay, I need to run back to my apartment to get the last of my belongings. It won't take long, I promise to meet you back here once I'm finished." Beck nodded. "Okay."

Ally turned and rezzed her bike, speeding off towards her apartment. Beck sat down and waited for Ally to return. He closed his eyes, listening to the music.

Then, after waiting for what felt like cycles, he realized that Ally should have returned a long time ago. Beck opened his eyes again, he looked around frantically. He didn't see Ally anywhere and he was starting to panic.

Beck ran outside of the club, then he heard Ally's high pitched scream. She was far away; it takes two nanocycles to get to her apartment on a lightbike, even when it's on maximum speed. He pulled out his baton and rezzed his bike, determined to get to Ally before it was too late.

When he finally got to her apartment, The Guy of the gang was leaning against the wall of an alleyway. "Where is she?" Beck demanded. The Guy smirked. "Oh, don't worry, she's alive… for the moment."

He turned his head and looked towards an abandoned warehouse. "She's tied up and unconscious in that abandoned building. If you get there in time, you might be able to deactivate the bomb strapped to her back. However, if you don't make it… then… you know what'll happen."

Beck quickly turned and rezzed his bike, heading for the abandoned warehouse. It wasn't that far away, he'll get there in time, he will. When he finds Ally, they'll leave Neon together, and they can start a new life in Purgos.

But the moment Beck stopped at the warehouse and turned his bike into a baton, the building literally went *KA-BOOM*! Beck could only stop and stare at the now flaming building that started to collapse in on itself.

Beck hung his head in despair. He had failed Ally and he would never forgive himself for that mistake. He could hear the rest of the gang standing behind him, laughing. Beck didn't move, what's the point?

He knew they wouldn't kill him now. He would be the first living example to others who might even think about straying from the rest of the group.

Beck couldn't stay in Neon anymore, he would have to leave. Beck rode to the train station and got an express ticket for Purgos. Beck wasn't sure what would happen to him in the future and he didn't care anymore.

With Ally dead, Beck had nothing to lose anymore. He had already lost his will to live, Beck was in a deep pool of depression and there was no one who could help him.

Beck slouched in his seat on the train. Purgos was so far from Neon, it would take a while before he reached his destination. His eyes suddenly felt heavy, and he slept.

Beck suddenly woke when a voice boomed through the speakers. "Now entering Purgos train station, please wait for the train to come to a complete stop before exiting."

Beck got up and left the train. He took a moment to take in his surroundings. The city was so… colorful, unlike the soft neon green that Neon City radiated.

Beck started to walk down the streets and sat down in a club. He sighed as he lowered his head and buried himself in his arms. Beck started when he heard an unfamiliar voice talk to him. "Are you feeling okay?"

Beck lifted his head to see a dark-skinned program with short white hair looking at him, his dark eyes full with concern. Beck nodded slowly. "Y-Yeah, I'm… fine."

The program narrowed his eyes and he sat down across from Beck. "Are you sure?" Beck responded faster this time. "Don't worry about me I'm okay." The program held out his hand to Beck. "My name's Able." He said as Beck shook it cautiously.

"You aren't from around here, are you?" Beck responded by shaking his head. "No, I just moved here." Able nodded his head. "Do you have any natural gifts?" He asks. Beck looked at Able and nodded. "Well… yeah, I do sort of have a knack for fixing my lightcycle when it's broken."

Able smiled. "Well, it just so happens, that I own a mechanic shop in Argon, a neighboring city. How would you like to work there, the job comes with a dormitory if you don't have a place to stay."

Beck smiled and nodded. "O-Okay, thanks. I'd really like to start a new life out here." Able nodded again. "Okay, then follow me." Beck followed Able out of the club without further questioning.

When Beck got a tour around the shop, he was shown his locker, and lastly, his dorm. "This is where you'll stay." Able said as he opened the door to show Beck his new home.

Beck smiled, the room was perfect. Able leaned towards Beck and whispered something into his ear. "Might I suggest that you also change your appearance. New looks are also part of a fresh start." Beck smiled at Able and nodded. "Yeah, no problem."

Able headed for the door and said one more thing before he vanished through the doorway. "When you're ready, you can come downstairs to my office and I'll tell you your first job." Beck slowly nodded.

When Able was gone, Beck drew his disk and activated his appearances. He was about to try his best to recreate the suit design that Ally made for him, when he noticed that it was in the saved slot. _How convenient._

Beck thought as he pressed on the image and watched as his gang design faded into the other suit that Ally created herself. He decided to style his hair the way Ally did it as well. When he was finished, he looked just like an ordinary program.

Beck walked into an elevator, and stood patiently as it slowly made its way down to the bottom floor. When he stepped off, he walked into three programs.

There was a blue-haired girl with yellow circuits, she was standing next to a brown haired program with light green circuits, and a brown haired program with a stripe of white hair in the front, and he had red circuits.

"Oh, hi!" The blue haired girl said. "You must be the new guy. I'm Mara." She held out her hand for Beck to shake. Beck took it and shook it casually. The green circuited program held out his hand as well. "I'm Zed." He said.

Beck shook his hand as well. "Nice to meet you Zed." Beck said politely. Mara spoke again. "This is Bodhi." She said with a smile. Bodhi greeted Beck with a nod and a half-smile. Beck smiled back at Bodhi, mimicking his nod as well. Bodhi laughed at what Beck did. "I like this new guy, I think we'll all get along just fine."

Bodhi stepped forward to shake Beck's hand. "What's your name?" He asked. Beck swallowed, wondering if he can trust these programs, then he remembered that they don't know him at all. "Beck… my name's Beck." Bodhi grinned. "Nice to meet you Beck."

Beck stepped away from the three programs. "I need to get to Able's office to receive my first assignment." Mara's eyes widened. "Oh, follow me." Beck obeyed, Zed and Bodhi came along as well.

"Able's office is right here." Mara gestured for Beck to enter first. Beck glanced at Mara before he walked through the doorway.

Able was sitting at a desk and he looked up at Beck. "Ah, are you ready to get to work?" Beck nodded. "Yeah, but I should tell you, I'm not a professional mechanic, I'm just good at fixing my own bike."

Able nodded in response, then spoke. "That's okay, not every program here started a job, knowing how to fix their own bike, that skill is considered to be quite impressive." Beck smiled slightly. "Thank you."

"Okay Beck. You will start out fixing lightcycle labeled 'A213'. Bodhi out there will help you with anything you need, if Bodhi's not available, Zed or Mara can help. They're the best mechanics I hired."

Beck nodded. "Okay, so far that's easy enough." Able smiled. "Good, I see a lot of potential in you Beck, I look forward to having you work here." Beck smiled in response while turned and left the office.

"Ready to get started?" Bodhi asked. Beck nodded confidently. "Are you kidding? I was programmed to be ready!" Bodhi, Zed, and Mara all giggled. "That's the spirit!" Bodhi encouraged with a slap on the back.

Beck walked towards his designated lightcycle, when a thought came to him. He has a job, some good, new friends… and he found a home. Beck smiled to himself as Bodhi helped him haul the bike to Beck's workspace. So far, life seemed to finally get better.

Beck opened his eyes and sighed. There was no way he was going to sleep right now, he was going to live life to the fullest. He got up and went down to the main floor of the garage and walked up to Zed and Mara.

"Hey, I was thinking the three of us should head to the club. Do you guys want to do that?" Beck's friends glanced at each other and nodded. "Sure Beck, that actually sounds nice." Mara said with a smile.

Beck smiled back. He felt great to let his feelings flow for a while. He felt more… controlled, and almost… happy. He was still grieving inside over his loss of Ally. But on the brighter side of this, he found where he felt he truly belonged.

He still see's things all over the place that reminded him of Ally, but it's not much of a surprise. He knew her for more than just two cycles. He just remembered the first time he met her and the last time he saw her, the best.

The three friends turned and they all rezzed their bikes, heading for the club. Beck knew he wouldn't stop thinking about Ally, and that was okay now, he couldn't forget her forever even if he tried.

Beck smiled to himself and closed his eyes briefly again. He knew how Ally would feel if she lived this moment herself, she would feel the same way Beck was feeling. Complete… well, almost.


	18. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

Beck rode through the streets of Argon, following his friends to the club. He felt surprisingly relaxed and refreshed, he liked it. Beck arrived at the club and sat down with his friends.

When Mara dragged Zed onto the dance floor, Beck then remembered that he had to meet Tron for training. "Hey guys, I gotta go, I forgot about something." His friends glanced at him. "Okay, bye Beck!" Mara said with a smile.

Beck sped down the streets, heading for the hideout in the outlands. Beck sped on the holographic bridge, through the entrance and he ran into the elevator. A thought occurred to him, he had forgotten to tell both Tron and Able about The Librarian's request. He intended to do that when he saw Tron.

The doors opened and Beck raced into the Control room. Tron saw him and spoke first. "Ah, there you are, I was worried that you wouldn't show up at all." Beck grinned. "I wouldn't miss it."

Tron turned and looked out the window when Beck spoke up. "Tron I met a program known as The Librarian. She asked me a favor." Tron turned and looked at Beck. "Cyrus's ex-girlfriend?" Beck nodded. "Yeah, she wanted me to find supposedly you, so we could work out some method to recapture Cyrus."

Tron suddenly shook his head. "No, we can't let live now. He'll keep finding ways to break out again and wreck more havoc. We have to end him." That caught Beck off guard. "Come on, training will have to wait. We'll scan the city for Cyrus until we find him."

Tron turned towards the elevator and Beck followed. Tron pulled off his disk and turned his outfit into that low, white circuited disguise and put on his mask. The doors closed behind them as they pulled out their batons, ready to rez their bikes when the doors opened. Then the whole elevator started shaking, hard. The shock knocked both programs off their feet.

"What's going on?" Beck shouted. Tron's masked head looked up and spoke. "Well, how convenient. We didn't have to find Cyrus, he found us." The lights suddenly blacked out, leaving Beck and Tron in total darkness. They both knew what would most likely happen next.

…

Paige ran through the hallways of Tesler's Base. She had heard an explosion in Tesler's throne chamber. When Paige ran inside, she could only stand and stare. It was a very gruesome sight of a large pile of pixels… of General Tesler.

Paige ran over to a guard and asked in a shaky voice. "What happened here?!" The guard looked just as shocked of the sight as Paige. "I-I don't know. There was some kind of explosion and now-" He gestured to the pile of pixels. "He's gone."

Paige glanced at Pavel. For a moment, she thought that Pave l was the one who did this, or at least behind it. She looked closer at him, but saw nothing. Apparently, the explosion caught Pavel by surprise as well.

Paige felt horrible. _Tesler had saved my life._ She thought. _How could I have let this happen?_ She ran out of the room, feeling sick to her stomach. She had to get out of here, go get some air to clear her head.

She jumped onto a light chopper with a wing chute on. She was going to jump off and land on her place, tall ramp on the bridge she took Beck to once.

Once Paige landed gracefully on top, she sat down on the edge. Her head was starting to ache; Paige started to take in deep, calm breaths. She needed a clear head to find out how this would have happened.

Then, out of the blue, a thought occurred. The Renegade was the program who supposedly, framed her. So it wouldn't be crazy to assume that he killed General Tesler. Paige clenched her fists, stood up, and she jumped off the bridge.

When Paige landed, she pulled out her baton and rezzed her lightbike. She was going hunting; she was going to avenge her great leader. Paige was going to show this masked vigil ante that he messed with the wrong military organization.

Paige wondered where to search first, she thought for a moment. _Where does he go most often?_ An idea occurred; she sometimes caught a glimpse of the Renegade heading for the outlands after he did something destructive.

She turned her bike and headed in the direction of the out lands where the Renegade usually headed. She wasn't sure if she would find him out here, but it was a start.

Little did Paige know, there was much more going on than the Renegade ever let on. There was nothing to prepare Paige for what she might find next.


	19. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

Beck slowly, weakly opened his eyes. He looked around, he and Tron seemed to be inside some sort of dark, circular room. Then it occurred to Beck like a slap to the face. They were both located inside Cyrus's special prison.

Beck and Tron were both strapped to two chairs like Beck was when he first met Cyrus, except Tron's was pulled off to the side. Beck glanced around the compressed space one more time. The chair that Beck suspected to be Cyrus's, was empty and across from Beck's.

Beck was still wearing the white suit he brought for training, and his mask was on. Tron was still masked and wearing his black disguise. Beck looked down at his bound hands. The restraints were sizzling and Beck's wrists felt like they were burning.

Beck pulled on the bonds once, twice and he groaned. That really hurt, whatever that was going on, it was damaging Beck's code. He stopped cold when he heard Cyrus's eerie, unnerving laugh. He looked in the direction it came from and sure enough, Cyrus was standing there, smirking.

Beck wrinkled up his nose and insulted him. "What's wrong **Cy**? Can't stand there with that stupid grin without making sure you have the upper hand?" Cyrus's smile faded, then came back quickly, wider than before. "Well, Renegade. Did you already forget already that I **always** have the upper hand.

Beck grimaced at the pain shooting up and down his arms. He looked at Tron, who was beginning to recover. Cyrus chuckled and gestured to the prison. "Look familiar Tron? This is what I called home after you betrayed me."

Tron shook his head. "No Cyrus, you betrayed yourself when you stopped protecting innocent programs and attacked everyone right and left." Cyrus scowled at Tron. "You both may believe that there's a chance of winning this war against Clu, but you're wrong. The only way to free the grid is to destroy it and start fresh."

Tron shook his head again. "No Cyrus. If you do that, there will be nothing left, no life, just empty, damaged code and pixels all over the place."

Cyrus walked closer to them. "Liar! I'll show you what will really happen when it does. I will free every living program! The three of us will be considered heroes once we accomplish this goal!"

Cyrus stepped over and sat in the empty chair across from Beck. The chairs spinned around and positioned themselves back to back like they did before when Beck was in the prison last time.

The sphere that the three chairs rested on slowly began to rise and spin out of the compressed space. And until they left the prison, it was all deja `vu for Beck.

…

Paige quickly sped through the outlands, determined to find the Renegade and make him understand the pain she felt from losing General Tesler. She pulled the brakes and looked around.

Her head shot to the right and she caught a glimpse of flashing lights and heard power waves moving through the air. She turned her bike in that direction and sped towards it. Even if the Renegade had nothing to do with it, Paige was still curious to find out what was going on.

The mysterious flashing seemed to occur somewhere between Argon and Gallium. When she got there, she derezzed her bike back into a baton and stared at the sight.

She could see what looked like a giant flashing ball spinning on multiple wires and poles. Paige looked closer, she saw two programs struggling to get free. She caught a glimpse of one wearing white, and the other was wearing mostly black.

She didn't understand what was going on until she saw a third figure covered in light lines. He was saying something, Paige craned her head and listened.

The third figure was laughing, his vice full of insanity. "If you don't understand the good outcome of what we'll accomplish now, neither of you ever will." The white figure only responded with a weak groan.

The black-clad program spoke defiantly. "You're insane! The only thing you'll accomplish by doing this is destroying the entire grid, killing every living program along with it!"

Paige wasn't sure if she heard the black program right. She moved a little closer. The program with light lines spoke again. "I did you both a favor earlier this cycle. Now Tesler's out of the way and so will Clu!" The white program spoke this time. "You killed General Tesler?! He's right, Cyrus, you **are** insane!"

Paige narrowed her eyes. _Did I hear them all right? Is that mysterious program in the light lines the one that murdered General Tesler instead of the Renegade?_ Paige drew her disk, and was about to throw it when she heard the program called Cyrus talk again.

"Neither of you understand. There is no such thing as free will, everything that is seen right now, or what occurred in the past, was all meant to be. No program can change their destiny." He looked in the direction of the white program.

"You are more than a mechanic and you know it. It was in your programming to blow up that statue and start a rebellion, but you were meant to save the grid in a different way, by helping me destroy it."

Paige realized that the white program was the Renegade. Her grip tightened on her disk. The Renegade then lifted his masked head and spoke. "No, I'm not going to let you destroy everything we know!"

Cyrus responded calmly. "You don't have a choice." He turned his head towards the Renegade's friend. "Neither do you!" Paige was now tired of listening. She reactivated her disk and threw it at the poles and wires supporting the giant spinning sphere.

It started shaking and started to fall. "No, Nooooooo!" Cyrus yelled. Paige could tell the Renegade was smirking under his mask when he spoke. "Gee Cyrus, I guess fate didn't want you to destroy the grid after all!"

The restraints on the three chairs disappeared and the three programs got up and the Renegade and the black figure started fighting Cyrus. Paige blew a strand of hair out of her eyes and sighed, she knew this would take a while if she didn't intervene.

Paige raised her disk and threw it at Cyrus, derezzing him instantly. The two programs stopped dead, then they lost their balance and fell along with the giant sphere they were standing on.

The mysterious black figure grabbed the Renegade and jumped before they fell into this rectangular mirror that swallowed up the spinning sphere. There was a final blast of blinding light. Paige squinted to try and see through it, it didn't matter because it disappeared as quickly as it came.

Paige docked her disk as she scanned the landscape in an attempt to find the two rebellious troublemakers. She eventually spotted them, and they didn't look in good shape either. The Renegade was down, holding his wrists and groaning in pain.

His partner was kneeling next to him, encouraging him to stay still while he tried to see the damage. Paige curiously walked up closer to them to see what was so wrong with his hands. Paige gasped. It was some kind of foreign code encrypted on his wrist, it was definitely hurting him.

A thought occurred in Paige's mind. She was looking for answers and she knew that the Renegade had them. She stepped into the open, and confronted the two programs.


	20. Chapter 19

**Hey Guys! I finally finished this chapter, it took me forever to write! Anyways, this chapter was a little harder to write than I planned. Sorry if the characters aren't quite like themselves, this one might get a little awkward.**

* * *

**Chapter 19**

Paige kept walking up to the Renegade and stopped, out of their reach. The Renegade saw Paige first and stopped cold. Paige saw he was shaking, badly. He slowly, painfully raised his hands in the air as a sign of surrender.

His masked partner turned and looked at Paige. She ignored him, he wasn't important to her; she was more focused on the Renegade. Paige tensed though, when his cold, hard voice spoke. "What do you want?"

Paige's eyes flickered down to the Renegade's hands, which were still raised in the air, and visibly shaking. His wrists were showing a glowing foreign code, it sort of messed up his circuitry whenever it was disturbed or touched.

Paige has seen this before, back when she was a medic. She has treated this particular foreign virus before, but they weren't this serious, or ever located on the wrists, and she could tell he had it for a while.

Paige took a step toward the Renegade, he flinched slightly and his friend drew his disk. "Not a step closer! What do you want?" Paige shot him a hard, serious look. "In case you didn't notice, that's a corrupted code encrypted on his wrist and I might be able to treat it."

The Renegade tilted his head slightly, obviously trying to comprehend what Paige just said, she rolled her eyes. _Wow, he must have gone through a lot of abusement in that short amount of time to be acting like this._ The dark program activated the disk. "You didn't answer my question! What do you want with **him**?"

Paige looked in the direction where she assumed the program's eyes were. "He knows some things that I care to know." The program tightened his grip on his disk. "Like his identity?" He asked. Paige quickly shook her head in response. "No, the matters that I want to discuss are completely unrelated to that."

Paige wasn't sure, but she could have sworn that she heard him growl. The program slowly put his disk back into its holder. He obviously didn't trust Paige, she didn't blame him. She was a commander in the army, and he was a rebel from what she could tell.

Paige turned her attention towards the Renegade again. From the way he acted and moved, she would have guessed he was in a lot more than simply pain. _He has definitely been through a lot tonight._

Paige knelt down beside the Renegade to take a closer look at the code, it looked really bad… and definitely painful, now she understood why he was shaking so badly. "Ouch, that's really gotta hurt." She said sympathetically.

"May I?" She slowly reached for his wrist and the Renegade saved her the trouble by carefully placing his wrist in her hand. The condition his wrist was in was unbelievable, she was surprised that the Renegade was only shaking and groaning.

His hand was burning hot, and there was steam coming off it. Paige was appalled. "Was this burnt into your hand?" The Renegade tilted his head to the side. "Y-Yeah I guess, it's… sort of fine, now… I think."

Paige gently ran her finger of her free hand up and down the coding and the Renegade was trying his best not to cry out. Paige was well aware that it was hurting him, but she had no other way to examine the damaged codes.

"What did you do, stick your hand into pure corrupted code?" The Renegade responded quickly. "No, it was the restraints I was in that did it." After another brief moment of examination, she lifted her head and explained what she found out.

"That coding encrypted on your wrist isn't technically fatal, but it easily spreads. According to its design, it was meant to take over a host body until they go completely insane and do something stupid enough to get themselves killed. And the process was meant to be very painful."

Paige looked up at the dark screen that concealed the Renegade's face. "How long have you had this virus?" She asked. The Renegade shrugged. "About three cycles after the public showdown against Tesler." Paige shook her head. "No, this particular virus would've taken you over many cycles ago."

The Renegade glanced downward for a moment, thinking hard, and then he looked back up at Paige. "This isn't the first time I had a coding encrypted on my wrist. I suffered at the hands of Cyrus before." Paige looked back up at him. "Let me guess, the previous one wasn't treated either."

The Renegade shook his head. "How was I supposed to know what to do? I didn't even know what the heck this coding was before you came along and had a look." Paige shook her head slowly in slight disappointment, and then she glanced back up at the Renegade's mask.

"May I see your disk? It will be easier for me to see the damages that were done. " The Renegade's partner started to growl again. "Oh give it a rest!" Paige shot at him. What Paige said took him aback, but it shut him up.

The Renegade took off his disk and shakily handed it out to Paige. She reached for it, but he held it back. "First, what do you want to know?" He suddenly asked.

Paige glanced at Cyrus's derezzed pixels. "Who was that program?" The Renegade handed his disk over. "Who, Cyrus? He's… crazy." He responded. "More than crazy." His friend added. "Yeah, so far he tried to kill us three times."

"Not to mention Tesler's dead." Paige added. The Renegade's friend said. "Oh, Cyrus is responsible for that." The Renegade lowered his head. "I never thought I'd be so sad, myself to know that Tesler's gone. You know, he probably wasn't that bad if you got to know him well enough."

Paige looked at The Renegade again. "You got to know General Tesler?" The Renegade looked at her. "Oh… no, I was just guessing what he was like. But in all fairness to Tesler, he wasn't that bad of a fighter, it was actually kind of fun once it was all over." Paige rolled her eyes and changed the subject.

"So, why does Cyrus hate you so much?" Paige asked. The Renegade lifted his shoulders uncomfortably as he answered. "He doesn't like us for many reasons." His friend joined in the conversation. "He's jealous of you." He said.

Paige shot him a look. The Renegade answered. "Because we believe in free will." Paige looked confused and the Renegade tried again. "Tell me, do you believe that I was destined to become the next Tron?"

Paige's expression looked unreadable, but she was definitely shocked. "Where did that question come from?" She demanded. The Renegade sighed and palmed his mask. "You're missing the point! Just give me your honest opinion."

"No! A million times no! Besides, Tron's dead, nothing can change that fact!" The Renegade nodded his head. "You see, Cyrus believes that things that occur, and supposedly will occur, were always meant to be. In other words, he is not convinced that I'm acting beyond my programming."

"He's jealous of you." The Renegade's friend said again. The Renegade turned towards him. "Brilliant! Name one reason of how he could possibly be jealous of me. I nearly died-just because I'm the Renegade-countless times!"

The program responded calmly. "It's very simple. Cyrus missed the old times when he was my successor." The Renegade spoke again, sounding annoyed. "Well that explains why he totally hates you now, but what about me?"

His friend answered. "It's the fact that he doesn't get to wear that awesome suit anymore." Paige raised an eyebrow as she got a good look at the brilliant, glowing white suit. Then her eyes flickered to the 'T' on his chest, the emblem seemed to look the brightest of all the other circuitry.

Paige looked back up at the Renegade's mask with a quizzical expression. "I have one more question though, but I doubt you'd answer it." The Renegade's head turned towards her. "Oh? Try me." He challenged.

Paige took a deep breath and asked. "Where and how, exactly did you get that suit?" The Renegade glanced down at the suit for a moment. His mysterious friend spoke up for him. "You don't need to know that, besides we can't tell you anyway, we're very secretive."

Paige raised an eyebrow. "Must be quite a secret." She commented. "You have no idea." The Renegade responded. Paige turned off the hologram and gave back his disk.

"By the way, I want you to know, I only helped you so I can get answers. Since I'm finished, I'm going to go back to fighting you again, later. **Like this never, ever happened.**" Her voice was cold as snow.

The dark program spoke again. "Well, it looks like we're done here, we're leaving." He stood up, and then he helped the Renegade back onto his feet. "One more thing." The Renegade's friend scanned the ground and picked up Cyrus's disk. "We'd better destroy this." He said. "I agree." The Renegade said.

The mysterious program took out a smoke bomb and threw it on the ground. A cloud of smoke bursted up, and when it cleared, both programs were gone.

* * *

** Okay, I recently found a way to watch all the episodes of Tron Uprising, you are all going to love this!**

**Google: **cartoons online Tron Uprising

The first link up at the top of the website should take you straight to it. (No downloading is required, and it's free! Just click on the episode you want to watch, scroll down and (click to watch for free!))

**All in all, I'm happy to write this book for you all, and expect some new chapters soon! Toodles :)**


	21. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

Beck and Tron stood by the edge of a wild energy spring. Tron held up Cyrus's disk and dropped it into the pool. "Beck, do you have anything positive to say about Cyrus?" Beck stared at Tron as if he just said that he was going to surrender both of them to Clu.

"Sorry Tron, I haven't known Cyrus long enough to notice anything good about him." Tron sighed. "Beck you should know that Cyrus wasn't always bad." Beck hung his head. "Well, yeah, I suppose he did fight against Clu alongside you for a while…" Beck turned and looked at Tron. "How did you meet Cyrus exactly? Was it the same way you met me?"

Tron shook his head a little, Beck could have sworn that Tron almost had a smile on his face, but he looked sad too. "Cyrus and I go way back." Beck had a feeling that this wasn't going to be a perfectly happy story.

"Right after I was defeated by Clu, the occupation held me prisoner, I was often tortured and they tried to make me join Clu willingly. When I refused, Dyson scarred my face… it was almost meant to be a mark of shame."

Beck was shocked; he had never imagined that the military could even get close to being that cruel. _So that's why Tron hated Dyson so much._ That part made sense to him now. Tron gradually continued.

Cyrus was a high ranked sentry working under Clu at the time, but he defected from the army and rescued me when he saw what had happened to me." Beck wasn't aware that Cyrus could have been so caring, let alone being part of the occupation at the time.

"When I recovered enough, I decided to teach him some of my own useful fighting techniques, which he put to good use until he was infected with the virus." Beck looked at Tron again. "What happened?" He asked. Tron looked down, sighing.

"I'm not entirely sure. What was it that the commander mentioned something about pure corrupted code?" Beck nodded his head. "Yeah, that's what she said about the virus that was infecting my wrist." Tron looked back into the energy pool.

"From what I understand, it looks a lot like energy when it's all gathered in a pool. Maybe Cyrus fell into one by accident when I sent him deeper into the outlands to destroy a disk; it's a rational explanation when I think about it. He came back covered in light lines when he said he completed the task."

The two programs stood by the pool, and then Tron broke the silence with a mild joke. "I think this is an energy pool, I can't be certain… would you like to test it?" They both laughed, and then Beck realized something.

"You know, I think this is the first time I ever heard you laugh." Tron smirked. "Yeah, I couldn't go easy on you when we had missions to focus on, and training."

The two programs stood side by side in silence for a while longer. Beck said. "Do you think the elevator to the hideout is going to be fine? Do you need help repairing it?" Tron waved a hand dismissively.

"No, it'll be fine, it's not even broken. Go see your friends before they start to suspect you're up to something." Beck looked at Tron. "What do I say to them if they want to know where I've been?" Tron looked back at Beck. "Do they know about Cyrus?"

Beck nodded. "Yeah." Tron looked forward. "Then you can tell them that Cyrus kidnapped you and tried to kill you. I'm sure it would be a worthy excuse." They started laughing, and Tron said.

"Okay, I'm going to get back to the hideout. You might want to meet up with your friends for now." "I will." Beck assured Tron as he rezzed his bike and headed for the lair.

When Tron was out of sight, Beck glanced down at the energy pool just in time to see the disk dissolve into nothing. It was gone. _Gone…_

Ally was gone, but the memories of her and the things she had told Beck were still with him. They had been together for only 22 cycles, but Beck cherished every moment he had with her.

Beck stood up and rezzed his lightbike. He knew where he would go, to the docks in Argon City. When Beck arrived, he climbed onto the highest crate and stood just over the sea. All he had to do was jump, and he would almost relive the old times.

Beck just stared into the dark waters; he remembered how often he had gone swimming with Ally. He suddenly flashbacked to the cycle they left the harbor, holding hands. It was the first time Beck had ever gone swimming, and he loved it.

* * *

"Come on!" Ally encouraged as she pulled Beck through the streets, she was holding his hand with both of hers. "I want to show you something!" They were heading for a large tower. "But we're still soaking wet!" Beck said.

Ally grinned. "Don't worry; we'll take the back set of stairs." Beck was confused. "Take the stairs to where?" Ally's eyes sparkled. "To see a magnificent view."

She opened a secret door and they ran up dozens of flights of stairs until they came up to the roof of the club. "Whoa…" Beck said as he overlooked the entire city. It was truly magnificent; Beck could spend cycles up here.

Ally brought Beck's attention back to her. "Hey Beck, watch this." She walked over to the edge of the roof, Beck quickly followed. "What are you doing?" Beck asked as she leaned over the railing. Ally grinned.

"Let's just say that this is one of the many reasons we went swimming tonight." Ally explained as she carefully scanned the ground beneath her. "Oh, someone's coming! Just be quiet, and then we can laugh."

Beck wondered what Ally would do until her actions answered his question. Ally's eyes sparkled, this time they showed off a hint of mischief. Ally grabbed her light dirty blonde hair, and then she wrung all of the water out over the passerby programs.

Ally quickly put on her mask and said. "Going… going… GONE!" The water splashed the programs at the foot of the building. Beck heard and saw the stranger's reaction. "Aw man! I got wet and… hey! I see you two up there! Come down here so I can give you a piece of my mind!"

Ally collapsed onto the floor of the roof, laughing hysterically. Her mask slid off her face as she tried to recover from the exciting experience. She paused and listened to the program that was still cursing at them, then she and Beck both bursted out laughing.

"Heh, heh. Wasn't that fun?" Ally turned her head and looked at Beck, whom smirked when they heard that the program was still cursing from below. Beck responded. "Yeah, that was incredible, but I'm afraid that 'Mr. Crabby-Pixels isn't going to let us leave the roof anytime soon."

Ally waved her hand in dismiss. "Ah, he's probably just having a bad day. Besides, it was just a harmless prank." Beck glanced at the foot of the building, he saw the program, cursing and shaking his fist at both of them. "What's he doing now?" Ally asked.

Beck looked back at Ally and joked. "He said 'thank you for the refreshing experience and that I would care for another." Beck stood up and wrung out his water at the program too. He cursed even more and shouted out colorful insults at them.

Ally glanced down at the double-pranked victim. "Way to go Beck, now we're stuck up here even longer." She said, grinning. "You actually might have gone too far on this one." She commented as she saw the program throw objects in their direction pointlessly.

Beck looked at Ally with a warm smile. He had been dating Ally behind the other gang's back for a while. Beck cupped Ally's cheek in his hand and whispered in her ear. "Sometimes, it's worth the risk." Ally smiled beautifully at Beck. "Now that, I agree with." Beck gently wrapped both of hands around her head and pulled her in for a kiss.

Beck had never kissed another program before, he's heard some programs talking about their first kiss being super special, and so Beck wanted his first kiss to be special. Ally moaned as he intertwined his fingers through her hair.

They pulled back for air, and they smiled at each other. "That was my first kiss." Ally admitted. "Mine too." Beck returned. Ally glanced over the edge of the roof again to see if their prank victim was still there and sure enough, he had retorted from cursing and throwing stuff, to giving them death threats and shooting some kind of arm cannon at them.

Ally sat back down, shaking her head. "Um, Beck? I don't know how I should say this, so I'll get straight to the point… I think we accidently pranked a gangster."

"What?" Beck said as he looked over the rail again to get a better look at him. Thankfully, the program wasn't part of the Crims' clique, but he was definitely part of another gang. His shouts were easy to hear, if you were quiet enough, they were up really high on this building.

Ally sighed. "Jeez, calm down buddy. You're breaking the three most important rules in life." Beck looked at Ally. "What?" He asked. Ally looked at Beck. "Oh, sorry. I never told you that I live by three rules in life."

Beck was really curious to hear. "Really, tell me them." Ally smiled. "Calmness, Respect, and Self-Control. Those are the three rules I live by." Beck raised an eyebrow. "But… you broke your rule about respect by pranking that poor gangster down there."

The program's shouting was still going on, but he was starting to sound tired. Ally responded to Beck's comment. "Pranks are okay, as long as they're harmless and you only do them every once in a while. That program is only tiring himself out by breaking the three rules; he's going to get himself hurt."

"What do you mean?" Beck asked, but his question was answered immediately. A large group of ordinary citizens started to chase him away, yelling at him that he was disrupting the peace in the city. Thankfully, no one got hurt and the prank victim ran off and didn't come back.

Beck and Ally giggled at the sight of the programs scaring the gangster off. "Well, tonight was really fun. Thank you for all of the excitement tonight." Beck said as he looked Ally in the eye. Her eyes started sparkling again. She looked really happy, and more pretty, she was practically radiating with it.

They couldn't help liking each other, they were inseparable. Beck pulled Ally in for another kiss, she didn't resist. When their lips touched, Ally wrapped her arms around Beck's neck as he held her face in his hands. Beck never wanted this night to end, ever.

They both lost their balance and fell on the floor of the roof, still entangled from their act of 'expressing their feelings'. They opened their mouths and pressed their lips harder together. The experience was incredible, exhilarating. It felt like a thousand cycles before they pulled away again, breathing hard.

They lay on the roof together throughout the night, enjoying each other's company. Beck loved Ally very much, and he knew she felt the exact same way about him. "I never want this night to end." Ally said dreamily.

"Yeah, me neither." Beck said as he pulled Ally closer to him. Ally rested her head on Beck's shoulder and they looked out at the view, together.

* * *

Beck snapped back to reality. He loved that night they spent together; it was so much fun, excitement, pranks… and love. Beck remembered how good it felt whenever he went swimming with Ally. He looked back down into the dark depths of the water.

Beck had never gone swimming by himself for fun unless Ally was with him. They had so much fun together, Beck wanted to feel that rush of excitement again. This was his chance.

Beck sighed, closed his eyes, and then he jumped.


	22. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21**

Beck felt the rush of air right before he hit cold water. It was exciting, but it was empty as well without Ally, she always brought the experience to life. Beck swam up to the surface of the water to get some air into his lungs.

It had been too long since the last time he had gone swimming. He had somehow lost all of the smooth, graceful experience that he used to have back when he dated Ally.

Swimming wasn't as fun as it used to be, it only made Beck's loss more painful inside. He sighed and swam towards the shore, heading for a ladder.

When he got out of the water, Beck rezzed his bike and headed back to the club, where his friends most likely still were. He pulled up to the front of the building, and walked inside. Beck looked around the room until he located his friends and he walked over to sit by them.

"Hey guys, what did I miss?" Zed and Mara just stared at Beck, shocked. "Beck, you're soaking wet! Where in Users name have you been?! You've been gone for a really long time!" Mara said.

Beck inhaled sharply. "Yeah, I know I've been gone for a while, but-" Mara cut him off. "You know what, forget it, it doesn't matter. Anyways, Zed and I just received word while you were gone, that the two of us are being sent to Bismuth for a little machinery assignment next cycle and you're allowed to come along if you talk to Able about it."

Beck thought for a moment, this would be a great opportunity to take some extra time off of being The Renegade and spend more of it with his friends. "Okay, that sounds great! I'll talk to Able about it, be right back!" Beck ran as fast as he could out of the club.

First, he would have to clear it with Tron, and then he would talk to Able. Beck rezzed his lightbike and he sped out towards the outlands. Zed and Mara peeked outside the door. "Why's he heading for the outlands?" Mara shrugged. "He's probably going to do something crazy before he sees Able, like jump a canyon."

They both shared a laugh. "That's Beck for you." Mara said while shaking her head and walking back inside to dance with Zed on the dance floor. Beck raced through the outlands, he needed to talk to Tron, Zed and Mara were going to leave soon.

Beck derezzed his bike back into a baton and walked into the elevator. When Beck reached the top floor, he peeked outside the doors to see if Tron was in this room, and sure enough he was. Beck walked up to him quietly.

"Hey Tron, I'm going to go on a trip to Bismuth with my friends for a while. Do you mind if I take several cycles off to do this? I promise to come straight here the moment I return." Tron looked at Beck. "I see nothing wrong with that, it would help to take any suspicion off of you."

Beck sighed in relief. "Thanks Tron, you're the best! Now I can go see Able to arrange my trip."

Tron turned and looked back outside the window and watched Beck drive off, heading for the Garage. He wondered what would become of this young program. His last mentee ended up going crazy.

Beck and Cyrus had their differences, yet they were so similar in their own ways that it was almost creepy for Tron. He shuddered, he didn't want to think about Cyrus now, not after all of the recent events that occurred.

Then he wondered why the commander of the army was so willing to help Beck, just in return for some minor intel on Cyrus. _Young programs, they're so complicated and less predictable nowadays._

**…**

Paige marched down the hallway of the base, heading for the throne room. She had been summoned by the new General… it was Pavel. It wasn't much of a surprise, Pavel was Tesler's second-in-command and the title: 'General Pavel', had a better ring to it than Paige having the title as a General.

The doors slid noiselessly open as Paige walked inside, and she bowed her head respectfully (even though she really didn't like Pavel, but she had no choice, he was the new General).

"You summoned me, sir." Pavel smirked. "Paige please, call me by my name, we're both good friends… aren't we?" Paige rolled her eyes, but not enough for Pavel to notice. "Sure… if that's what you really want. Anyways, you said that I was summoned due to something very important?"

Pavel nodded. "Yes, it's a private message on the port, only you are allowed to read it… it's a direct assignment from Clu, from what I understand." Paige tentatively took the small clipboard-like device and turned around to read the message.

"I should also add, Paige that you are to delete that message when you are finished reading it." Paige nodded. "Will do." Her eyes widened as she read the message, she couldn't believe her eyes.

It was weird with the fact that she would be keeping an eye on a mechanic who goes by the name of **Beck**, until further notice. According to the data, he's been disappearing under mysterious circumstances frequently, every other cycle.

He was booked for a train ride to Bismuth in about a cycle for a business trip. And Paige was going to have to follow Beck to keep an eye on him. _I get to see Beck again! And this time, it's both on and off duty._

Paige thought for a moment. _Would it seem too weird for Beck to see me on __**another**__ train ride to Bismuth?_ Paige shook her head. She knew she could come up with a rational excuse.

Oh! She was put in charge of monitoring a train ride to Bismuth as a random assignment because there was nothing else for her to do for the cycle. It was a good idea, commanders can be in charge of monitoring trains, she's done it before.

Paige quickly deleted the message and handed the port back to Pavel. "Apparently, I'm going to Bismuth for a few cycles. I'll be back soon." Pavel sighed as he leaned into his chair. "I hope you don't come back anytime soon." He muttered under his breath.


	23. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22**

After Paige left the base, Pavel got up from his chair and went to round up a squad of black guards for a **special** assignment. "I have gathered you all here for a very special mission. The Renegade will be boarding this specific train for a leisurely ride to Bismuth.

That's when I need you all to sabotage and destroy that train. I don't care how you do it, just be sure that **no one** gets off that train that includes: citizens, **guards**, and The Renegade himself. And be sure that no one sees you, do you understand?"

The soldiers looked at Pavel and nodded. Pavel smirked. "Good, now get moving programs, on the double! Sabotage that train before that masked troublemaker rains down anymore chaos." The black guards nodded and marched out of the room.

"Oh for user's sake, run or you'll never catch that train in time!" They acknowledged and ran as fast as they could off the train. Pavel smiled with satisfaction as he walked back to the throne room.

_I have really outdone myself, there's no way Paige will manage to evade that. Those soldiers think they're pursuing the Renegade, ha! They don't realize that the Renegade isn't on that train. Whatever Clu assigned Paige probably isn't that important anyways, we can afford to lose a commander._

**…**

Paige walked through the station, scanning the large area for the right train. _Ah, there it is._ She climbed up the stairs and walked down the aisles, looking around for her target. She was glad that her assignment was to spend more time with Beck. Things were finally looking up, but she wasn't looking down beneath her feet…

**…**

The train was just finished with the prepping and was ready to leave the station… without Beck. Beck sped towards the station. Would he make it? Nooooooo!

The train was already leaving the station, Beck revved his engine and sped through the building and was still on his bike. This could potentially get him into trouble later on; he hoped he wouldn't be caught.

He pushed his bike to go faster; he almost caught up with the train. Beck derezzed his bike back into a baton, and then he jumped. With a loud **_bang_**, he got a good grip on the outside part of the train. _Did anybody see me? Oh good, no._

Beck swung himself between the carts. Yes! He got on, Beck turned around and was about to walk inside, when he was grabbed from behind by the midsection. His attacker flung him into a wall, pinning his arms behind his back… he's been **_caught_**.


	24. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23**

Beck struggled to get out of his captor's grip, but whoever held him was strong. A gentle, feminine voice spoke. "Wow, I never knew you had that much fight in you… and strength, that's almost familiar.

Due to the grip she had on him, Beck couldn't turn his head to see who was pressing him against the wall. He didn't need to see who it was; her voice was all too familiar. "Paige? Is that you?" Beck heard her speak again.

"You're under arrest for illegally boarding this train and attempting to stow away." Beck groaned in frustration. "I have my ticket, I was just late. I'm on a business trip with a couple of my coworkers." Beck's arms were released.

He slowly turned around to face his captor. Of course, it was Paige, and she looked like she was about to laugh. "Well, it's nice to see you again, so soon." Beck raised an eyebrow. "Do you suppose they take late tickets?"

Paige giggled and waved that subject away. "Nah, don't worry about it. The employees don't have to know about this, but let's get you seated down, okay?" Beck nodded his head.

Beck wondered why she was on this train this time. "So, what are you doing on this train now?" Paige stopped and turned towards Beck. She had read his data, and she was prepared to answer all of his possible questions.

"I was sent to monitor Bismuth for about three cycles to see how it's going over there. I should return to Argon in about two cycles." Beck looked mildly surprised. "That's odd; I have the same time span in Bismuth. I'm supposed to help my friends work on a big mechanical project over there."

Paige grinned. "We might get to ride the same train back to Argon together." Beck smiled back. "That sounds really nice." They walked down the aisles, looking for a place to sit, then someone called Beck's name. "Beck! There you are, Zed and I were worried that you weren't coming at all." Mara said.

She frowned when she saw Beck standing next to Paige, and smiling like that. "Don't worry, I'm here now." Beck responded soothingly as he strode toward them to sit down, Paige followed closely behind.

Zed furrowed an eyebrow when he saw Beck and Paige smile at each other like that when they sat across from one another. Mara glanced nervously at Paige, who sat next to her. Paige looked at Mara as well.

There was a flicker of recognition. "I know you two! You helped the Renegade infiltrate Tesler's base one time!" Paige looked at Zed. "And you attacked me from behind and let the Renegade escape!" Beck winced, he didn't like where this appeared to be going.

But Paige calmed down quickly and laughed it off. "It's fine now, he always gets away. Anyhow, I'm really looking forward to spending more time with you." Paige said to Beck with a smile. She turned back to Zed and Mara.

"Well, it's a small grid after all. I take it these programs are your friends Beck?" Beck nodded. "Yep, they're a real fun bunch, especially if you get to know them well enough." Paige smirked.

"I know these two well enough already." Paige looked at Zed and Mara. "It's good to know you two are still alive and okay. I never got to apologize to you for the inconvenience when Hopper was framed of being the Renegade." Zed and Mara smiled a little. "It's okay, as you can see, we're just fine as it is."

She said as she shot Beck a look. He knew that look, Mara obviously wanted to talk to him… in private. Beck looked back at Paige and smiled warmly. "I gotta go talk to Mara in private about something. Do you mind?"

Paige waved a hand dismissively. "No, no, it's fine. Go talk to her, I'll wait here and get to know… err…" Paige looked at Zed for his name. "Zed." He said. Paige snapped her fingers. "That's right! I'll talk to Zed a little bit until you two get back."

Beck waved as he got up. "Thanks Paige." He said as Mara led him towards the engine room, then she turned and headed for a storage closet. "Get in." Mara demanded. Beck obeyed without question, Mara walked inside after him. Beck knew Mara wasn't very happy right now.

Mara shut the door. "Okay, start talking" Mara said. Beck was confused. "Talk about what?" Mara rolled her eyes. "About Paige! How did you meet her, and why are you guys together now?" Beck started laughing but Mara kept a straight face.

"Do you really think that I'm dating a Commander in Tesler's army? The odds of that are highly unlikely." Mara's patience was wearing thin. "Beck, how did you meet her?" Beck lost his smile.

"I managed to stop a runaway train while both Paige and I were on board, she saw the whole thing, and she thought that was really impressive." Mara frowned. "Did you invite her to come to Bismuth with us?" Beck shook his head.

"No, she said she has an assignment there, and she might ride the same train back to Argon with us as well." Mara narrowed her eyes. "That seems a little suspicious, don't you think?" Beck looked at Mara. "Well, maybe, but you don't know for sure."

Mara shook her head. "Either she's stalking you, or she's hiding something about you… it could be both. I'm going to find out." Mara started to walk out, Beck called after her. "Um, Mara I don't think that's a very good idea. Paige can get annoyed if you ask her too many questions."

Mara responded without looking back. "Don't care, I'm still going to find out." Beck sighed and lowered his head. _She's a goner._ Beck thought to himself.

He stopped abruptly, he heard a faint ticking. Beck narrowed his eyes in focus as he followed the sound… it was in the engine room. Beck ran inside, searching frantically for whatever was ticking, and he feared the worst.

Beck turned around, and he saw a bomb attached to the main engine. But it was no ordinary bomb, it was some sort of by-pass code. The bomb was meant to keep the engines from stopping. If it detonated, there would be no stopping this train.


	25. Chapter 24

**Hey guys! Thanks for checking out my story and all! I really appreciate it! Anyways, the next few chapters are sort of going to resemble the episode 'Welcome Home', except no one's chasing scientists around... hopefully.**

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**Chapter 24**

Beck felt the urge to go tell Zed, Mara, and Paige about the bomb but he stopped. He was considered to be just an ordinary citizen; he had no true reason to enter the engine room just because he had heard a ticking noise.

Beck started pacing. If he got too involved in these kinds of situations, he could raise suspicion. But if he was never around because he was being the Renegade, that would raise suspicion too.

Beck stopped and looked at the bomb; he didn't know this type of design it's definitely new. It was on a time frame, and if it was disturbed too much, it would detonate automatically. This was a bad situation, and Beck had to make a fast decision.

He could solve this problem as Beck, or The Renegade. Either way would potentially raise an equal amount of suspicion from Zed, Mara, and Paige. Beck started pacing again but abruptly stopped. He felt something in his pocket.

Beck carefully took it out. It was a really small device that just fit into his hand, and attached to the device was a small note. It said:

_Call me if you need me_

_-T_

Beck smiled. _How convenient, he must've known that I'd run into trouble along the way… as usual._ He carefully examined the object, and he felt the temptation to call him right now. But wait… what if this was some kind of test?

Beck looked back at the bomb. He had plenty of time; it would go off a little before the train reached Bismuth… as long as it was left alone. Beck glanced at the device one last time before putting it back into his pocket.

Calling Tron would be total last resort, a backup plan if all else failed. First, he would get help from his friends… and maybe Paige. Beck drew his disk; he was going to solve this issue as The Renegade.

But since he didn't bring the white suit, he would have to wear the same outfit he wore when he blew up Clu's statue. Then he put on his mask and dashed out of the engine room.

**…**

Mara walked back to her seat, not even bothering to look behind her to see if Beck was following. She walked over to Zed and sat across from him, and glanced briefly at Paige. Paige looked down the aisle. "Hey, where's Beck?"

Mara narrowed her eyes. "Why are you so concerned about Beck? Zed and I both know that Beck can spend a few nanocycles on his own." Paige was shocked from Mara said, it definitely stung. "N-Never mind, I wasn't worried, just curious."

Mara frowned. "I heard you're coming to Bismuth on a business trip as well… and returning to Argon at the same time as us. Isn't that coincidental?" Mara said as she glanced at Zed, telling him with her expression that something wasn't right.

Apparently, Zed got the message, because he got serious. Before either of them could say anything else, Paige glanced down the aisle. Her expression got serious as well. "That's funny; you usually don't hear programs gasping and gathered in such a group like that. Unless…"

Paige got up and started heading toward the commotion, then she stopped and stared as well. A masked program was making his way through the crowd, heading down the aisle towards her.

Paige gasped. It was the Renegade. "You!" Paige shouted as she drew her disk and started to run towards him.

* * *

**Yeah, I know, I left you guys at ****_another_**** cliff hanger. Expect more chapters soon! And remember... TRON LIVES! hehe :P**


	26. Chapter 25

**Hey Guys! I wanna wish one of my reviewers: Jillian, a happy Birthday! :) You might have noticed that I changed the cover design. I just thought it would seem suitable for the later chapters to come! As usual, thank you for all of the encouragement to type more chapters quickly! I really appreciate it!**

* * *

**Chapter 25**

Paige ran over to the Renegade and tackled him and pinned him to the ground. "What are you doing here?" Paige demanded as she held the disk up to his neck. The Renegade slowly looked up at Paige. "Calm down, I'm more than happy to explain the situation everyone's in."

Paige frowned. "What's going on?" She asked. The Renegade explained just below a whisper. "There's some kind of device attached to the main engine. I'm not entirely sure what it is, but I know what it does." Paige raised an eyebrow. "And?" She persisted.

The Renegade glanced at Paige's disk, which was still held up against his neck. "Do you mind?" He asked, gesturing towards the disk. Paige scowled as she retracted her disk and docked it. "Just remember, I'm keeping my eye on you."

The Renegade stood up, facing Paige. "Now, show me this **device** that you spotted." He turned around to guide her towards the engine room. "Wait." Paige said. "Let me go find some mechanics, I know there are three on this train somewhere… ah there's two."

"Two's fine." The Renegade quickly. "We don't have time to be looking around for the third. I'll be in the engine room." Paige didn't want the Renegade to be alone for a second, she ran over to Zed and Mara.

"You two, get up now and head for the engine room." "But, what's going on?" Zed asked. Paige stopped him with her hand. "No time for questions, now move." Zed and Mara were confused and didn't know what was going on.

But the moment they entered the engine room and saw the Renegade, they had a slight idea of what was going on. Paige walked over behind him. "Find anything new?" She asked, clearly annoyed that he's here. The Renegade shook his head.

"I have no idea what this device is. But if there's too much disruption, it will go off. And this train will become a nonstop death sentence for every passenger on this train. And if we want to figure out how to solve this problem, we all have to work together."

Zed and Mara looked at each other. "Ohhhh. So that's why you didn't arrest him yet." Zed smirked. Paige scowled. "I might do that anyway, I still don't trust you. And how do I know that you didn't attach this device on this train?"

The Renegade looked at Paige sharply. "That's a stupid question to ask! I'm a program smart enough to know that if I ever attached an override device to a train, I would not stay on board to be part of the fireworks."

Mara looked at Paige. "He does have a point." She defended. Paige folded her arms. "But how did you know that it's an override device?" She asked. The Renegade responded without turning around.

"It doesn't take a genius to figure that part out, come have a look at it. See for yourself." Paige walked over to have a look, the Renegade moved out of the way. As Paige carefully examined the timed device, she gasped.

"Well, now I know for sure that you didn't sabotage this train, but… it's not possible." The Renegade tilted his head. "What do you mean? Do you know what that thing is?" Paige slowly nodded her head.

"Well… yeah. It was meant to be part of a top secret government project. Someone must have taken it and put it on this train, but I don't know who would do such a thing." The Renegade then spoke. "Gee, I think you'd be surprised of what programs would do. Has it been tested yet?"

Paige shook her head. "No, it wasn't tested yet." The Renegade sighed with frustration as he leaned against the wall. "Then we're the test subjects." He said bitterly. Zed glanced at Paige. "I don't suppose you know how this thing works?" He inquired.

Paige shook her head. "Sorry, no." The Renegade shook his head with slight disappointment. "It's fine, we can figure this out on our own. Now let's think about this. We know what this device does; we might be able to figure out how it exactly works through reverse engineering."

Mara's eyes widened. "Yes, of course! Why didn't I think of that?" The Renegade continued. "But we'll have to be very careful, we don't want this thing to go off early, which it will if there's too much disturbances."

Zed whistled. "Well, the odds are clearly not in our favor now." The Renegade looked at Zed. "Well… unfortunately, I'm not really a lucky program… I never was. We may be able to resolve this issue in time if we are very careful, and effective."

* * *

**I'll try to type another chapter to upload today, if not, definitely tomorrow :) Remember, Tron Lives!**


	27. Chapter 26

**Hey guys! Sorry I didn't upload this sooner, I was either busy with personal stuff or my parents intentionally kept me from going on the computer. Ugh, the second part was really annoying! Anyways, I took the time just for you to type another long chapter, enjoy! :)**

* * *

**Chapter 26**

Zed carefully opened the device's coding while Mara watched from behind. The passengers outside were talking about the Renegade being on the train. They could hear everyone from behind the doors. Paige sighed. "Rrrrgh! I can't take that noise anymore!"

Paige opened the door and walked outside to tell everyone to shut up. The Renegade looked over his shoulder to make sure Paige was gone, then he turned back to Zed and Mara. "Okay, so far we know that the coding's very complex, but we're getting very close to figuring it all out."

Paige opened the door and peeked her head inside. "Hey Renegade, come out… you might be interested to know this." The Renegade looked back at Zed and Mara. "I'll be back soon." He promised, then he stood up and jogged out the door and followed Paige.

He looked Paige in the eye. "What is it?" He asked. Paige narrowed her eyes. "Listen to what they're saying." She said. The Renegade lowered his head and listened, he heard them talking about someone, and it definitely wasn't him.

He heard one program say. "Will 'The Alpha' come?" Another responded. "I don't know, the Renegade's here, so she may not have to come or get involved." A program walked over to Paige and the Renegade. "So, what's going on?" He asks. The Renegade shrugged.

"We haven't identified the exact problem yet, but we'll keep you updated." He nodded. "Okay, I'll do my best to try to keep everybody calm, and quiet." He turned and walked away. The Renegade walked back into the engine room, but Paige stopped him. "Did you hear them?" She asked.

He nodded. "Apparently, I'm not the only well-known program on the grid. It's no big deal." He turned towards the door, but Paige grabbed him by the arm. "You don't know who 'Alpha' is, do you?'" The Renegade shook his head. "I don't think I've heard that name before."

Paige looked down. "I haven't heard that name either, I thought you'd know. After all, you like intel." The Renegade walked through the door. "We don't need to think about that right now, we need to focus on what's in front of us." Zed and Mara looked at him in confusion.

Paige glanced at Zed and Mara. "Have either of you heard of 'The Alpha'?" Both of their eyes widened and they changed the subject. "Hey, we managed to access the entire code now." The Renegade's head lifted slightly. "Really?" He asked as he strode over to the two programs to see the open coding.

He sighed deeply as he lowered his head and rested his masked head against his hand. Zed and Mara looked worried. "Are you okay?" Mara asked, touching his shoulder gently. The Renegade looked back up at Mara and Zed, and he shook his head.

"I'm fine, it's the train I'm more concerned about." He shook his head in disappointment. "There's nothing we can do to stop this train." Everyone's eyes widened. Zed looked at the Renegade. "So, what do we do now? Should we go tell everyone that there's nothing anyone can do?"

The Renegade glanced at Zed, Mara, and then Paige. He shook his head and spoke. "No, we just need to think of a new plan… Oh! I have an idea!" He got up and picked up an emergency intercom and handed it to Paige. "I don't understand why I didn't do this before, I'm stupider than I thought I was."

Zed raised an eyebrow. "So, what's the plan then?" The Renegade looked back at Zed. "We're abandoning the engines." He said. Paige immediately knew what he was talking about and told everyone to 'move to the rear of the train'.

Programs immediately got up, and walked towards the rear cars. "What do we do?" Zed asked, Mara was at his side. The Renegade then spoke. "Join the other programs at the rear and go look for your friend." They nodded and left. Paige looked at the Renegade and narrowed her eyes.

"So what do I do?" She asked as she put her hands on her hips. The Renegade looked back at Paige. "We wait for the right moment before we uncouple ourselves from the engines." Paige lifted an eyebrow. "Shouldn't we do that immediately?" She asked.

The Renegade shook his head. "No, I want to do it at just the right moment. Hopefully, we can come to a complete stop the moment we enter the station." Paige grinned, understanding what he said. "Ah, you want to arrive at the station on time."

She smirked as she followed him down the aisles, checking to make sure there weren't any programs that were still up front. They both stopped when they reached the space between the front of the rear cars and the engine cars. Paige drew her disk. "When you're ready." She said patiently, waiting for him to say when to sever the couplings.

"Hold on." He said, looking up at the screen to see where they were. "Put your disk back." He said. Paige stared at him. "What?" She asked. The Renegade looked at her. "We have 10 nanocycles before we have to uncouple us, and we have about 12 nanocycles before the device in the engine room detonates. We have plenty of time."

Paige slowly put her disk back, she still didn't trust the Renegade. She had plans to catch him off guard and arrest him when this was all over, and she wouldn't have to keep following Beck around and making things awkward for him.

**…**

Ten nanocycles have passed, Paige looked at the Renegade and drew her disk again. "Now?" She asked, raising her disk. The Renegade looked back up at the screen and nodded to her. "Now." He confirmed, as he drew his disk. And the two programs both used their disks and started to slowly sever the couplings.

The Renegade started small talk as they severed the couplings. "So, what do we do when we land at the station?" Paige looked up at him and smirked.

"Well, I have a few options. I could arrest you and take you back to Argon, or I could stay in Bismuth for a while and find out more about this 'Alpha' program. Or, I could still stick around in Bismuth and do what I was assigned to do in the first place."

The Renegade chuckled. "I think I'd prefer option number two or three." Paige raised an eyebrow. "Of course you would." She said with a roll of her eyes. Suddenly, their disks completely severed the couples. Paige gave off a half-smile, she was clearly proud of what she's done.

"So, how does it feel to save some lives for once?" The Renegade said. Paige guessed he was smirking under his mask. "I save lives all the time, even from you." She shot at him, smirking back. "Ouch, you hurt my feelings." The Renegade said playfully, taking a step backward.

Paige took a step towards him. "I didn't know you even had feelings." Paige smiled. _Now's my chance._ She thought to herself. Almost like he read her mind, the Renegade abruptly turned and ran into the cart, clearly trying to escape Paige and disappear into the crowd.

_That's not gonna work._ Paige thought to herself as she ran inside as well, scanning the crowd of programs. He had to be somewhere on this train, he couldn't just jump off, they were still going too fast, he would derez.

She caught a glimpse of his shoulder as he ran towards another cart. _He's not getting away from me again!_ Paige thought as she chased him to the very back of the train.

They were now inside a cargo section, so no one was on board this cart, except Paige and the Renegade. This was the very last car, there was no other way off other than the door, there was no emergency exit. The Renegade was trapped.

Paige could hear him cursing that she managed to follow him, but she didn't know which direction it came from. "Come out Renegade. It's over, and we both know it." Paige said as she locked the door and walks slowly down the aisle, quickly checking side to side as she made her way to the very end.

He was very excellent at hiding, Paige gave him credit for that. But she eventually would find him, and then it would be over. She saw a shadow dart in the corner of her eye. Paige quickly drew her disk and threw it at a box, derezzing it. Nothing was there.

Paige sighed, but she wouldn't give up on her search yet. She saw him dart towards the door, but he wasn't fast enough. Paige threw her disk and the Renegade had to dodge it, jumping away from the door, giving Paige the upper hand.

She tackled him and pushed him onto the floor on his back. The Renegade struggled, but Paige used her knees to pin his arms to his sides underneath, and there was no way he'd be able to kick her off. She had her disk in one hand and kept his upper body pinned down with her other hand.

Paige grinned as she playfully trailed her disk across his body. The Renegade kept still, if he moved the slightest bit, he could derez, he still could any second. Paige still smiled as she pulled her disk back and docked it. Paige leaned into his mask and whispered. "I'm not gonna kill you, you're too much fun to have around."

She could hear him breathing as she pulled away. For an unknown reason, all the lights went out, leaving the two programs in darkness and silence. "What's going on?" Paige asked. "I don't know." The Renegade said. Paige felt him attempt to shrug, he was unsuccessful.

Neon Green light started to crawl across the floor, slowly forming a shape. Paige looked up to see a symbol starting to form. The Renegade craned his head around to see what was happening. What both programs saw was breathtaking.

The neon green lines started to web itself all over the cart, as well as the other cars as well. The last thing that happened was the neon green 'A' insignia that glowed all over the floor. And below the insignia were the words 'is here'.

Paige stared at it in shock. "Wow." The Renegade breathed. What was funny was, the lights didn't turn back on, and everyone was stuck in the dark. Paige focused her attention back on the Renegade. He looked back up at Paige.

She leaned forward again and she grabbed the back of the Renegade's mask and moves her hand around to feel the spot that removes the helmet. She couldn't find it. _It's fixed! Why didn't I realize that?_ Paige sighed in frustration ,which loosened her grip. The Renegade obviously felt that and with a lot of effort, he managed to throw Paige off of him.

He didn't care what was going on, he wanted to run and get out of this car and into another one. The Renegade started to get back onto his feet but Paige was quicker. She leaped at him again, but missed. The Renegade dove out of the way and stood up.

He unlocked the door and ran out towards the passenger cars. Apparently the 'A' insignia was the thing that caught everyone's attention right now, giving Beck the opportunity to open a door to a storage closet and step inside to change back into his normal outfit.

Beck couldn't feel his arms, Paige's knees pinned them down for a long time. He froze when he heard Paige walk into the car that he was on. She stopped outside the door that he was on, then continued walking. Beck could hear all of the programs on board talking about the neon green message written all over the train.

One of the programs started talking. "Oh my gosh! I know what the message means!" "What?" Other programs asked. The first program continued. "Okay, so this specific neon green letter 'A' is Alpha's emblem." "Like Tron!" Another program shouted. The first program spoke again. "So the message basically says 'Alpha is here'."

Beck raised an eyebrow. _What could that mean?_ He wondered. A program asked what Beck was thinking. "So what does it mean? Is she on the train?" Another program spoke. "Probably not. After all, we are in Bismuth now."

Another program talks. "So, why aren't we getting off?" "Because the only way off of the train isn't accessible, the doors that lead outside won't open." Beck heard the programs talk a bit more and pace the aisle, trying to come up with an idea to get off this train. _I need to get out of here._ Beck thought.

He wasn't sure how long Paige had him pinned, but it was definitely enough to mess up his arms' functions. Beck's fingers couldn't move as fast as he wanted them to, and the rest of his joints weren't any better. He wondered if Paige did that on purpose.

Either way, Beck couldn't change his outfit, let alone be able to draw his disk. Beck had only one option at the moment, he had to leave as he was. Beck took a deep breath as he reached for the handle, turned it, and he opened the door.

Beck looked around carefully as he stepped out into the still-dark aisles. He looked scanned the crowd of programs for Paige, but he didn't see her anywhere as he crept out of the closet. _Maybe she's checking another passenger car._ Beck thought as he shut the closet door.

He looked around one more time before he moved towards the a random door. Beck had lost his sense of direction from his panic to get away from Paige. She had really frightened him back there. Beck quickly checked to make sure his mask was still on. Thankfully, Paige never took it off.

Suddenly, Beck was seized from behind again, and pulled through a door, back into the cargo section. He was thrown to the ground, this time he landed on his stomach. He propped his upper body on his forearm, and he looked around. Paige wasn't there… no one was there.

It happened faster than Beck had anticipated. A smoke bomb was thrown in his direction, and it detonated. The cloud of fog completely enveloped him, leaving him an easy target. He stood up quickly, preparing for a fight; but he was still unsure about his arms, they were still messed up a bit.

Out of the blue, a wave of punches and jabs rained down onto Beck. He fell back onto the floor and couldn't move. But no one was holding him down, nothing was on him.

Beck tried lifting his hand, it remained still and limp at his side; he attempted to move his head, leg… no function would obey. Beck's vision was starting to blur, he was slowly beginning lose consciousness.

A figure in appeared and stood above him in the remaining smoke. It was a girl… but it wasn't Paige. That was the last thing Beck knew before he blacked out completely.

* * *

**Okay, some of you might have already figured it out, but I'll say this anyways. The 'A' on the book cover is the "Alpha's" emblem/symbol. (Spoiler Alert: She wears it on her chest like Tron does) Try to guess what will happen to Beck next. (I already have it planned out) See if you can guess though, just for giggles! :P**


	28. Chapter 27

**Wrote my latest chapter, hope you guys enjoy it! :)**

* * *

**Chapter 27**

Beck was just starting to open his eyes when he heard a voice boom through the speakers. "Next stop, Argon City. This is an express line; there will be no further stops." Beck snapped wide awake. _Wait, did I just hear that right? Am I going back to Argon?_

Beck tried to sit up, but he fell down again. He was still partially paralyzed, but he was recovering quickly. Beck felt something on his wrists. He glanced down behind his back. _Great, handcuffs. This cycle just got better._ Luckily, Beck still had his mask on… so, at least one good outcome for tonight.

He looked around. _Wonderful_, he was locked in a closet as well. Top that on as well as handcuffs, unable to move, and literally locked inside a storage closet. Beck went over what he remembered; he was definitely taken down by a girl, but was it really Paige? He couldn't remember clearly anymore.

It would definitely make sense if it really was Paige that arrested him, but Beck didn't think he remembered the girl wearing any kind of orange circuits. All of the circuits were… green, neon green, like the City Neon, where Beck origionally met Ally. Thinking about Ally always somehow calmed Beck.

_What would Ally do in this kind of situation?_ Beck wondered. He suddenly stopped, he heard programs talking. "I still don't understand why we have to do this." Another program responded. "Do what?" The first program spoke again. "We should have no right to take the Renegade back to Argon against his will"

The second program spoke again. "We had orders to. Besides, it's clear that he's not ready yet. When the time comes, we'll know, until then, we're going to deliver him back to Argon city along with an explanation." "He probably won't give a crap about our explanation." The first program argued.

The second program spoke more quietly. "Look, it's too late to go back now, besides we had direct orders to do this. Everything should go smoothly." The first program sighed in defeat. "How much time do we have left before he wakes up?"

The second program responded confidently. "He should come to, just as we arrive in Argon station." The first program took a deep breath. "Well, we just departed from Bismuth… This is gonna be a long ride." "You said it." The second program agreed.

Beck narrowed his eyes under his mask, thinking about what the two programs said. _Well, I know for sure that Paige probably isn't involved in this. _ _Who authorized them to do this to me? How come I didn't wake up at the time they said? Well… one thing I know for sure, I don't give a crap about an explanation._

_I HAVE TO BUST OUT OF HERE!_

With determination, Beck managed to get his legs to move and he shifted his weight against the wall as his legs slowly, stiffly extended to their full length. He was still unbalanced though, he fell down again. Beck winced as the cuffs behind his back twisted his shoulders painfully from the collapse.

The handcuffs started to feel a little tighter than they were before. Beck wondered what was wrong, because handcuffs don't usually do that. Beck experimentally strained against the cuffs, they started to close around even more. _Yep, they are definitely getting tighter._

Beck looked around the cramped closet, trying to find a way to get his disk off his back or to somehow get these cuffs off before they start to damage his wrists permanently, which he definitely didn't want.

Nothing useful was available to him. _Think Beck, THINK!_ An idea popped into his head, a memory actually. When Beck first met Tron, he was being interrogated. Behind Tron's back, Beck was able to pick his cuffs with his recoder tool.

Beck felt around in his pocket. Did he still have it, or was his last chance of getting free get taken away along with his ability to function properly?

He sighed with relief, it was still there. The programs started talking again, starting with the first one. "Hey, you tend to make a lot of mistakes. Did you mess anything up? You're acting weirder than usual." Beck stopped cold. They had messed up the time of when he would wake up.

The second program spoke. "Actually… yes, I think I did. Let me check first." _Oh, no. They figured me out._ Beck thought. He had to get the cuffs off, as soon as possible. Beck twisted his body so he could reach the recoder. He gasped as the cuffs tightened even more; it was really starting to hurt.

_Okay, the more I struggle, the tighter they'll get._ Beck carefully twisted again, he almost reached his recoder when the second program spoke again. "Oh users, no." He said. The first program spoke, clearly annoyed. "What's the problem?" The second program hesitated before answering.

"I… might have put the new prototype cuffs-from the lab-on the Renegade instead of the regular ones." Beck could hear the first program turn sharply towards the second one. "You what?!" He yelled. The second program told him to calm down.

"Shush! We don't want him to wake up early; we just need to get those cuffs off of him so they don't cut his hands off." The first program sighed again. "Okay, open the door. And this time, we'll be using **my** handcuffs."

They turned around, unlocked the door, and opened it. Luckily Beck was still lying on the floor. When they walked over to him, Beck pretended to still be unconscious. He had to wait for the right moment to get out of here. _Once they remove the cuffs, I can make a run for it._ Beck thought.

One program gently put his hand on Beck's shoulder. When Beck didn't move, he turned back to the other program, handing him a pair of cuffs. "He's still out; make the switch quickly before he does wake up." The second program waved a hand dismissively. "Chillax, he's still unconscious, we're gonna be fine."

The first program shook his head in annoyance. "Just get it over with." The second program knelt down and tapped a code into Beck's hand cuffs and they disconnected. The first program retrieved the handcuffs and nodded to his companion to put the other pair of cuffs on.

Before the second program could get the handcuffs on, Beck kicked both of the programs' knees out from under them, got up unsteadily, and made a run for it. He ran down the aisles, looking side to side for a place to hide. Beck's functions have finally recovered enough for him to change his suit.

He quickly boarded another train car, looked around and found another closet with a lock on the inside. He entered to small storage space before the two programs could see him. Beck locked the door and let out a sigh of relief, allowing himself to sit down and recover while he changed his suit.

He was smart enough to not change his suit design back to normal; instead he changed it to Tron's usual black disguise. When Beck finished with the white circuit design, he stood up, put the disk on his back, got his bearings, and then he bursted out the door… only to be caught again.

Apparently, they weren't waiting him out; they didn't even know where he was. They were just walking by, looking for him, when he opened the door and tried to run. Both programs grabbed his arms, and tried to subdue him again.

Beck dashed in one direction, then quickly jerked towards the other, using an evade method, and he twisted out of their grasp.

Neither of them could keep a grip on Beck, he literally slipped through their fingertips. They were chasing him again; Beck still hadn't completely recovered from everything that happened yet, so both programs were starting to gain on him.

Beck thought quickly, when he saw an emergency wing shoot holder coming up. Beck smiled with relief under his mask, he had found his escape route. He dashed by the Cabinet, and grabbed a wing chute in a smooth method without stopping.

Beck secured the wing chute onto his back and headed for the space between the cars. He was almost there. Beck opened the door, stopped at the edge with his hand gripping a rail, about to jump. "Stop!" One of the programs said… Too late.

Beck grinned under his mask as he let go of the rail, letting gravity take him down towards the ground, Beck pulled an energy string, and the wing chute opened, delivering him safely towards the ground. Beck landed with a roll and looked up at the train.

The two programs were on the train, staring at him until they were too small to see. Beck turned towards Bismuth, he could just see the city along the horizon. He groaned. Zed, Mara, and Paige must be worried sick, wondering where Beck was.

He felt around in his pockets. Thankfully, nothing was missing. He had his recoder, lightbike, and his light jet batons. Beck selected his light jet, took a running start before jumping, and he rezzed the jet. Beck started to get comfortable; it was gonna be a long ride before he reached Bismuth.

**…**

Beck landed on a random rooftop that was close to the ground. Beck put away his Baton and drew his disk to change his outfit back to his normal attire. When he was finished, Beck jumped down from the rooftop and landed neatly on his feet in an alleyway.

He began to walk out of the alley and pulled out a map of the city. He had marked the area that Beck and his friends would stay in. _Oh, good. I'm only a few blocks away; I'd better get there quickly. Zed and Mara are probably worried about me as it is._

Beck took out another baton and he rezzed his bike, going as fast as he could towards his temporary apartment. He stopped at the front door when he arrived, and derezzed his bike back into a baton.

Beck took a deep breath before he entered the building, having to face Zed, Mara and Paige. They were sitting on a couch in the living room… and they were all staring at him.

* * *

**Ooh! Beck's in trouble! ...Maybe they'll just get over it and laugh about it, huh? Oh, who am I kidding, Beck's a goner. Anyone agree with me? o_o**


	29. Chapter 28

**Chapter 28**

Everyone kept staring at Beck in shock and surprise. Mara spoke up first. "Where in Flynn's name have you been?!" Beck lifted his hands up defensively. "Calm down, calm down. There's really nothing to get worked up about, I'm here now."

Zed furrowed an eyebrow in suspicion. "But where **have** you been? Paige searched the whole train and scanned the entire City, looking for you." Beck closed his eyes and hung his head. "Sorry for giving you a hard time Paige." Mara spoke again.

"It's so weird, whenever the Renegade's around, you always somehow… disappear." Paige narrowed her eyes in concentration, then her head snapped up and she looked at Beck. He knew that kind of look… she was starting to catch onto him. She was figuring it all out, and so were Zed and Mara.

Paige started. "Oh no you aren't… Please tell me that what I'm thinking isn't true!" She yelled as she stood up and reached behind her back for her disk. Beck took a few steps backward, farther away from Paige. "Paige, Paige, calm down and take a seat. I promise to explain everything."

Paige scowled as she docked her disk and sat back down on the couch. "This better be one heck of an explanation, if you don't want me to arrest you." Zed and Mara just kept staring in disbelief. Beck walked over and sat down in a chair across from them.

"Okay, it all started after Mara was done talking to me when she pulled me aside for a private discussion on the train." Paige interrupted. "Didn't it all start when you blew up that statue of Clu?" Beck turned toward Paige. "You think I'm the Renegade?"

Paige folded her arms. "It would make sense." Beck sighed in frustration and hung his head. "You're not listening. I'm trying to explain why you never saw me on the train." Mara finally spoke. "So, you're not the Renegade?" Beck looked at Mara. "Mara, I never said that I was the Renegade."

After taking a deep breath, Beck continued. "A little after Mara left me and walked back to the seats, I… basically got kidnapped." Beck wasn't technically lying; those specific events did happen in that sort of order.

Paige raised both of her eyebrows in surprise. "Well, that's a surprising excuse, a good explanation as to why we didn't see you. So, how did you get away?"

Beck reached into his pocket and pulled out his recoder, waving it in the air in front of them. "I used this to pick handcuffs." He was secretly referring to the first time he had met Tron. Mara grinned. "Wow Beck, that's very resourceful, its genius. I should keep that in mind for the future."

Zed leaned against the couch and relaxed. "Wow, and for a moment, I actually thought that you really were the Renegade."

Beck let out a nervous laugh. "Yeah, wouldn't that be something?" Mara nodded. "That would be so cool." "Yeah, it would be awesome!" Zed agreed.

Beck looked at Paige and grinned. Paige smiled back; she looked relieved that she no longer suspected Beck of being her arch enemy all this time.

Mara changed the subject. "Beck, Zed and I will show you to your room." The trio of friends all got up and walked up a flight of stairs, leading Beck to the bedroom he'll be sleeping in for the next two cycles.

Zed and Mara walked to the end of a hallway and stopped to open a door. When the three programs walked inside, Mara shut the door and locked it. She then turned towards Beck and spoke in a hushed voice. "Okay Beck, you **have** to tell us. Are you truly the Renegade?"

Beck was surprised that they were both still going on about this. Beck looked at Zed, who seemed just as anxious about the subject as Mara. "I thought I just explained everything downstairs." His friends looked at each other and shrugged.

Beck added something else as well. "Hey guys, please tell Paige that I am truly sorry about the hard time she had of finding me." Zed nodded his head. Mara spoke up. "Hey Beck just thought you should know two things." Beck looked at Mara. "Okay." He said.

"First thing, Zed and I offered Paige some company, so she'll be staying with us." Beck nodded. "Okay, I see no problem about that." Mara continued. "After we couldn't find you on the train, and Paige didn't see you in the city, you are no longer expected to take part in the project."

Beck tilted his head to the side. "What?" He asked. Mara repeated herself. "We contacted the program that was running the project and we told him that we couldn't find you. He said that was okay and that we can go out looking for you, but both Zed and I would be just enough for the project."

Beck understood now, he was no longer a part of the project. It wasn't much of a loss. Being here took a little suspicion off him of being a trouble maker… and he gets to spend a little more time with Paige.

As Beck unpacked and settled himself in, he heard Zed and Mara leave, shutting the front door behind them. Beck sighed and sat down on his bed. He wasn't upset that he was no longer part of the project, in fact he felt relieved that he had one current duty lifted from his shoulders.

He took a deep, calming breath as he lay down on the bed and closed his eyes. He remembered Ally, once again.

* * *

Ally was playing music in the club again, this time; she wasn't wearing shades to hide the sparkling enchantment of her deep blue eyes. Beck knew that music was one of Ally's many passions she had, but hers was… different.

It was definitely better than the other music in Beck's opinion. He noticed that he wasn't the only program to appreciate something unique. He could see that the other programs in the club were a lot happier than they used to be.

When Ally's shift finally ended, they both walked out of the club. "So, what are we gonna do tonight?" Beck asked, full of curiosity. Ally looked at Beck and smiled. "How about we have a little race through the city?"

Beck smirked; he was the best at racing than the rest of the Crims, he knew all sorts of techniques to make a bike go faster. When Ally and Beck agreed on the roads that they would take, they walked over to the area that they would start, and finish at.

They both rezzed their lightcycles, revved their engines a few times, and they took off on que. They sped down the roads together, side by side. A very sharp turn was coming up; it was bent in an acute angle of about 45 degrees.

Ally shifted her weight on her bike to make the turn, but her bike somehow malfunctioned and turned back into a baton on its own. Ally rolled hundreds of times across the ground until she hit a large building. The impact was very hard; she must have gotten dozens of bad injuries.

Beck pulled on his brakes as hard as he could and ran over to Ally's still body. He knelt down next to her limp figure and gently took her in his arms. Ally groaned a little from the damages that were done to her body. She opened her eyes gradually and glanced down at her midsection.

Ally seemed to have recovered quickly because she looked back up at Beck and gave off a wry smile. "I guess I should be a little more careful next time. Huh?" Beck laughed a little and glanced down at her injuries. They weren't that bad, but they would definitely hurt.

Ally reached over her shoulder and drew her disk, activating her medical code. Beck watched Ally treat her injuries with interest. He had thought that only medics could heal injuries. Apparently, he's been proven wrong by Ally… again.

She had taught him so much, how to enjoy the simple things in life, how to find the rush of excitement in the most interesting places or ways.

Ally didn't just teach Beck how to swim and how to prank, she had taught him so much more, and that would have been done later. Beck had learned how to trust and to be trusted… Beck had thanked Ally for that in the future.

Ally finished fixing her code and docked her disk again. She turned towards Beck and smiled at him. Ally was definitely a thrill seeker; she had a habit to take risks, but she was still cautious. Beck carefully helped Ally back onto her feet and looked at her baton.

Ally glanced at her baton as well. "I'm not sure what happened to it, it just… malfunctioned somehow." Beck thought for a moment, then made a decision. "I could… take a look at it… if you want." Ally looked at Beck, surprised.

"I didn't know that you knew about vehicle codes." Beck looked down at the ground, nervous whether Ally thought it was impressive of lame. Ally answered Beck's thought. "That's a useful gift that can always come in handy." Beck smiled.

Ally was always very encouraging. "Everyone's abilities and strengths are always something to be proud of." Beck took Ally's baton and rezzed it back into a bike. He knelt down again to observe the damages that were done to the code, and he saw the problem immediately.

"Several parts of the vehicle were whacked out of place pretty good, but it's fixed now." Beck said as he Derezzed the lightbike back into a baton and gave it back to Ally. Beck smirked. "Do you wanna finish that race?" Ally shook her head. "No, I'll back away like a coward this time." Beck thought for a moment.

"Do you want to go swimming and pull off another wet prank on the rooftop, like last time?" Ally's eyes sparkled, more than they ever have before. Beck could never get over her beauty, or her exciting, thrill seeking side. "Yeah, that actually sounds like a lot of fun."

They grinned, and ran for the docks.

* * *

Beck opened his eyes again. He sighed as he got up from his bed, and headed for the door. He decided to hang out with Paige for a little while. _Paige._ Beck stopped for a moment, thinking.

_Paige was a lot like Ally, but she wasn't the same. Paige's brown eyes sparkled, but nothing like Ally's blue eyes; Paige was a thrill seeker, but not willing to take life threatening risks for the fun of it. Paige was kind, understanding, encouraging, and had a fire burning inside of her, but it was just… different._

Beck opened his bedroom door, walked down the hallway, and down the stairs. Paige was still on the couch… unmoved. She was sleeping. Beck quietly made his way across the room, heading towards her. He knelt down beside the couch and brushed a strand of hair out of her face.

Paige may not be Ally, but she was the closest to her than any other girl could possibly get. Beck gently kissed Paige on the forehead, and he kept watching her. Beck valued all of his moments with Paige, and he would never take his happy moments for granted again.


	30. Chapter 29

**Hey Guys! Sorry it took me so long on this chapter, I was busier than usual. Anyways, enjoy! :)**

* * *

**Chapter 29**

A program walked down an alleyway, she tapped in a code to open a door and passed through the door to the hideout. She walked down a flight of stairs and down a hallway of the underground facility, heading towards the medical center.

She wore the circuitry patterns of a medic, except her circuitry color was bright neon green, unlike the standard medics were more of a dimmed, jade green. Her face was covered by a black mask with some neon circuitry as well. She continued marching down the hallway until she came to a door, monitored by a black guard with white circuitry.

She nodded to the black guard as walked through the door, entering the medical center. "Hey Al!" She turned towards the familiar voice that called her name. "Ah, hi Chad." The door closed silently behind her. Chad smiled as he leaned against the wall.

"So, how have things been going during your trip? Did you find anything new?" She laughed and crossed her arms.

"Actually, yes I did. For some reason, on my trip back to Bismuth from Argon, someone vandalized the train. Written in neon green, was the message 'Alpha is here'. But for some reason, **MY** EMBLEM was used as 'The Alpha's' symbol. Why?"

Chad jerked his head in a direction, gesturing for her to follow. "We'd better talk somewhere more… private for this subject." Al sighed in annoyance and followed, being led by Chad throughout the facility to a room that she's never been in.

"Where are we? I've never been in this room before." Chad chuckled softly. "That's because you've never had a purpose here." He walked over to a cabinet, and opened it, pulling out a data pad.

"I checked your files; you didn't give much information about yourself when you joined 'The Resistance.'" Al sighed as she leaned against the dresser. "Why'd you look me up while I was gone? Why am I so interesting now?"

Al could hear the pride in Chad's voice as he spoke. "Your physical tests proved that you're a very fit field medic, but your mental tests were… different, drastically pointing in the opposite direction. Has something from the past been troubling you?" Al sighed, her masked head rolling backwards in irritation.

"So I have some minor mental disturbances now and then, I try not to let it get in the way of my work. It's nothing that I can change anyways. I've… just had some bad cycles in the past… no biggie." Chad shook his head slowly.

"Anyways, back to the emblem subject. Your physical results of your tests were excellent. Your leadership skills of leading your medical team have been exceptional."

"And?" She pressed. Chad looked at Al. "I've figured out that you were **originally programmed** to have the full name 'Alpha'. So I arranged that vandalism with your personal emblem because I think it's very obvious that you're 'The Alpha'. Which FYI is what I had told everyone call you from now on."

Chad put the data pad back in the drawer, then turned and saluted Alpha. "Proud to have you lead us… 'Alpha'." Alpha let out an exasperated sigh. "This is crazy! Just because my programmed name **is** Alpha doesn't mean that I am destined to **be** 'The Alpha'!"

Chad nodded his head in agreement. "True, very true but remembering your leadership skills and your physical test results, I think you were meant to be a leader." He gripped Alpha's shoulder in a comforting manner. "I have faith in you."

Alpha talked with Chad for a while longer, telling him about the other interesting things that occurred on the train. She told him about the Renegade. When she used her knowledge of pressure points, she jabbed him a couple of times in certain areas on the body that she knew could take someone out easily.

When she knocked him out, another co-resistor advised two other programs to deliver him back to Argon along with an explanation, and saying stuff about him 'not being ready'. Chad quickly dismissed the matter. "It was reported to me that he escaped and headed back to Bismuth anyways. It doesn't matter."

Alpha was definitely interested in the Renegade, but she shouldn't be thinking about that now, she has work to do. "Okay, I see that we're done here." She turned to leave and said one last thing before she left the room. "I may be leading an entire resistance now, but I'm still going to work as a field medic."

She dashed out of the room, leaving Chad alone in the room. Chad lowered his head, remembering when Al had first joined the resistance.

_A program was sitting in front of her in an interrogation room. She had passed the physical exams, now she was moving onto the mental tests. "State your name please." The program said. She lifted her masked head. "My name is Al." The program typed her name into the data pad, then continued. "I will say some words, please say aloud whatever comes to your mind when I say it."_

Chad was watching the whole time through one-way glass. No one has ever seen Al's face, because she was authorized to keep it on. She didn't want to take it off anyways. Everyone was relieved to have another medic joining, especially someone very suited for the field operations. Ever since Al joined, she was the center of attention.

All the guys were talking about how mysterious she was and how she knew all kinds of techniques to find thrills, or to calm you down. Everyone wanted their injuries to be treated only by Al. She was amazing on the field, and her rank quickly rose until she became a leader of a squad.

After being a leader of a field squad for a while, she even went on top-secret missions with squads of soldiers. Her fighting skills had greatly improved since she went on missions with soldiers. (She was the first medic to go on missions with soldiers and is still the only one authorized)

After studying male and female program's anatomies, she discovered pressure points that could temporarily paralyze a victim, knock them out instantly, or sometimes both. (Which she did on the Renegade.) The results varied, depending on where the pressure point was.

She even managed to impress Chad with her skills, who never admitted it to anyone because he secretly had a crush on her. He once nicknamed her 'Ally', but that somehow rubbed her the wrong way and she spent the whole cycle in her room afterwards.

To be honest, she never meant to attract any attention to herself, she was just very dedicated to the resistance. Programs now think that she was devoted because she was meant to be 'The Alpha', but it was for a different reason.

It was a reason that was never shared, and Chad suspected that it had something to do with her mental test results. He shrugged the matter off. It wasn't that big of a deal, no one would want Al to change because she's amazing just the way she is.

…

Alpha walked down the hallways, finding her way back to the medical center. When the doors slid open, she walked inside and acted like she wasn't the Alpha. She wanted things to be as normal as possible.

She walked over to her designated patient, who was resting in his bed. He was a soldier that was slashed several times with a disk in lethal areas during a field mission. Alpha managed to heal him, but it was going to be a while before he'd be back on his feet again.

He slowly turned his head and looked at her, his eyes focusing. He smiled slightly. "Chad announced before you returned that you were the Alpha. Is that true?" Alpha looked at him with gentle eyes. "The Alpha could be me, or you, or Chad, or any other program. It's all in beliefs, and we are free to believe whatever we want."

His smile grew wider. "You sound like a wise leader. I think you really are 'The Alpha'" He said, closing his eyes to rest. Alpha quickly pulled up his code and observed it silently. Her expression growing more optimistic. The soldier was making a faster recovery than she had predicted. That was good.

Alpha was a great medic, she thought for a moment. _Was everyone right? Could I really be 'The Alpha'?_ She knew one thing for sure, her programmed name **was** Alpha, but that didn't necessarily mean that she was meant to be.

Alpha closed her eyes from under her mask. When she opened her eyes, she put the patient's disk back and moved onto her next patient. When she was done, she stood up and went to her room.

It was quieter than it used to be, maybe everyone was in deep though or away on a mission to fight against Clu. She enjoyed the peace and quiet. It gave her the opportunity to think. Alpha walked over, lied down on her bed, and closed her eyes.

She thought about what the soldier said about her. _"You sound like a wise leader. I think you really are 'The Alpha'"_ She knew that this soldier was young, (and kind of cute). All in all, he was wise.

_A true hero is meant to be wise, brave, and to put other lives before themselves._ Alpha knew one thing for sure, she put other lives before hers, and she was willing to sacrifice herself if it meant that she could make a difference.

_"Because it's sometimes worth the risk"_ Someone once told her. She didn't want to think about her past; it was too painful. But she never forgot, she never could forget. Most of all, she didn't want to believe the supposed fact that her old boyfriend was dead.

But Alpha gave up her search a long time ago, she believed that he was murdered. After she gave up hope, she was going to commit suicide from the torturous depression, but convinced herself that if she was going to die, she would die with a purpose. She worked for the Resistance movement ever since.

But even though she was constantly depressed, even though it permanently changed her mental behavior, she kept going. She was determined to keep going 'till she dropped.

She managed to survive all the hardships, everything that came at her, even though it was hard. Alpha knew that she wouldn't stop until she died, and that she died happy, with a purpose, and feeling… **complete.**

* * *

**Yeah, I know. The story wasn't in Beck's perspective this time, it was in Alpha's. (That won't happen very often... unless you viewers want me to) Anyways, who thinks Alpha is cool? :)**


	31. Chapter 30

**Chapter 30**

Paige had woken up, and was sitting on the couch now, talking to Beck. "So, where do you want to go? We have plenty of time before Zed and Mara come back." Beck glanced upward, thinking hard. "Well I never got a good look at the city, considering my rush to get here. Obviously you would've been even more worried."

Paige chuckled. "Yeah, I suppose… So, did you decide or are we selecting randomly?" Beck thought for a moment longer, then he decided. "I think I'd prefer to be surprised this time… you know, for now."

Paige smiled and thought for a moment. "We could go look around for a club, or a city square." Beck shrugged. "Sounds good to me." Paige turned towards Beck and looked at him. "You don't even care, do you?" Beck shrugged. "Just in deep thought."

They stood up and walked outside. Beck asked Paige a question that he's been thinking about since he arrived in Bismuth. "Does Bismuth have a curfew?" Paige shrugged. "I could imagine a curfew being enforced here. I heard that Bismuth is the Alpha's home city. Like Argon is the Renegade's home."

Beck nodded. "That's interesting, I didn't know that. I'm actually very curious to find out more information on 'The Alpha'. She really caught my attention from that vandalism incident." Paige listened and responded. "Well I know one thing for sure. The Renegade seems to know nothing about Alpha, and he certainly didn't vandalize that train."

They kept walking and talking to each other that they didn't realize that they had walked into an occupied alleyway. Beck abruptly stopped and looked toward the gang that was starting to surround them. Beck pushed Paige behind him in a protective manner.

"Let me handle this." Beck whispered to Paige, she nodded cautiously. "Beck took a step forward, towards the supposed leader of the group. "Sorry, we must have taken a wrong turn when we got lost in a conversation. We aren't looking for any trouble, we'll just be on our way and never come back."

Beck started to back up, but he grabbed from behind by one of the gangsters. Beck's arms were pinned behind his back. He looked up as the leader walked up to Beck and drew his disk, holding it close to his neck. "You should have thought about that before you entered our territory."

Paige looked at Beck. "Now can I handle this?" Paige asked. "Yeah, go ahead." Paige punched the program that was restraining Beck, and the two programs started fighting the rest of the gang. Soon enough, the whole gang was lying on the ground, groaning.

Paige and Beck ran out of the alley, finding their way back to a main road. Paige looked at Beck, smirking. "I didn't know you could fight that good. Your combat skills seemed to have improved since I last saw you fight." Beck grinned, looking very cheeky.

"Thanks, you weren't so bad yourself." Paige laughed, giving Beck a playful nudge. She looked up and smiled. "Hey, look! We finally found a club!" Beck looked in the general direction that Paige was facing and smiled as well. "Well… shall we enter?"

Paige looked at Beck. "After you." Beck chuckled. "Ladies first." Paige walked inside without hesitation. "Thank you, you're such a gentleman." XP

Beck stared after Paige for a moment. He just got duped! "Hey, wait up!" Beck raced to catch up with Paige. "You tricked me!" Beck said accusingly. Paige laughed. "That's right, that's right." She continued walking inside and sat down at a booth. Beck sat down across form Paige.

When they got some energy drinks, they started talking openly to each other. Beck looked aside and he saw a two masked programs. They didn't look like gangsters or even act like any, but he had a feeling that there could possibly be trouble later on.

Paige looked and saw them too, she turned towards Beck again. "Should we go?" Beck nodded. "Yeah, we'd probably be better off." They got up and walked outside, pulling out their batons. Paige and Beck rezzed their bikes and took off down the road, heading back to their apartment.

When they arrived, Zed and Mara were sitting on the couch, talking to each other… alone. Beck turned towards Paige and whispered in her ear. "Let's not disturb them; I'm pretty sure that they would want to remain alone together." Paige nodded, understanding that they both really like each other.

They started to tiptoe upstairs, but Zed and Mara turned their heads toward Beck and Paige. "Hey, you just get back?" Beck groaned, he didn't want to disturb them… too late. Paige spoke up. "Yeah, we just spent some time together out in the city. How did the project go?"

Before Zed and Mara could answer, the speakers outside boomed an announcement repeatedly. "The curfew is for your protection, and the safety of your fellow programs." Paige turned and looked at Beck. "Fancy that, they actually **do** have a curfew."

Zed and Mara looked at each other, then spoke up too. "Well… yeah, they do have a curfew. Bismuth is the Alpha's home city where she will cause minor trouble. This is the heart of the Resistance Movement." Beck and Paige were puzzled.

They walked back down the stairs and sat down with Zed and Mara. "What Resistance Movement?" Beck's friends glanced at each other again. Beck had a feeling that Zed and Mara knew a lot more than they would tell him… or the Renegade. He'd have to find out for himself.

Mara eventually spoke up. "Well… didn't you hear? There's a huge buildup of an uprising, the Renegade would be so excited to hear more. Beck smiled. "I would **love** to hear more." Mara giggled. "Of course you would, but that's all I have to share."

_She means she's had enough to share with Paige around._ Beck thought. He suddenly felt tired; despite the fact that he'd just slept before he spent some time with Paige. (Which was weird) Beck stood up and walked towards the stairs. Zed and Mara looked at him with concern. "Beck, are you okay?"

Beck kept dragging his feet, waving away their worries. "Yeah I'm fine, just… tired. I'm… going to… my…room…" Beck groaned as his vision blurred, and his eyes rolled up as he fell to the floor, unconscious.


	32. Chapter 31

**Hey Guys! It took me a while on this chapter, but I finally finished! Enjoy! :)**

* * *

**Chapter 31**

"Beck!" Mara shouted so loud that programs would have rerezzed from the dead to tell her to shut up. Paige ran over and knelt by Beck's side. She held up her hand to stop Zed and Mara from coming closer. "Give him some space."

Paige gently took Beck's right wrist in her hand to feel his energy pulse… it was normal. _This is so strange; Beck appears to be in sleep mode. But programs just don't drop to the floor when they're really tired._ Paige disconnected Beck's disk to examine his coding.

Her eyes narrowed when she saw something that caught her attention. "Hmm… well, now I understand the problem." Zed and Mara looked at Paige. "What is it?" Paige adjusted some bits of code on Beck's disk and returned it onto his back. She then turned to face Zed and Mara.

"I'm afraid I can't rouse him at the moment. It's nothing serious, but it is out of the usual medical issues." Zed lifted an eyebrow. "How? What is it?" Paige glanced down at Beck, and then looked back at Zed and Mara.

"It looks like his coding was just messed up to trigger a failsafe… which I guess I shouldn't call it that. Anyways, it basically caused him to black out at random times… which isn't safe if he blacked out during a fight. I can't do anything to stop him from losing consciousness, but it should happen about two more times before it stops."

Mara narrowed her eyes. "That's weird, what happened to cause a failsafe?" Paige shook her head. "I think it was one of the gangsters that punched him. Sorry, I forgot to mention that we got cornered in an alleyway by a gang. One of them must have punched him the wrong way."

Zed tilted his head slightly. "What did you mean that you couldn't stop it?" Paige sighed and glanced at Zed.

"I mean that I can't do anything to stop him from blacking out, though a very experienced medic would be able to stop it; I however, am not a medic **that** experienced. It doesn't matter anyways, his system will only blackout two more times before he completely recovers."

They nodded and looked down at Beck's limp form. "What do we do with him now?" Paige glanced down at Beck, and then looked back up at Zed and Mara. "We'd better get him upstairs to his bedroom, and put him on his bed."

Together, the three programs lifted Beck off the ground and hauled him upstairs. When they put Beck on his bed and adjusted him so he wouldn't fall off, Paige waved them out the door and followed to give him peace and quiet.

Paige quietly shut the door behind her and walked down the stairs. "If we hear anything unusual, we'll run upstairs to assist him." They nodded, and walked over to the couch and started talking to pass some time. All they were able to do for Beck was wait.

* * *

Beck was dreaming, but it wasn't an ordinary dream. He was remembering his past while he slept. He was dreaming of one of his memories, which has never happened to him before.

"This is bogus." Beck said out loud. Ally laughed at Beck's reaction. Her circuitry glowing brightly. Her circuitry was the ordinary citizen patterns, but the colors were different. Her primary color was an innocent bright white; the secondary color was a beautiful neon green that matched the city's color.

Ally was beating Beck at a board game, she called it chess, and she was trying to teach him how to play. "It helps to improve your strategy skills." Beck looked up at Ally, raising an eyebrow. "It's going to help improve my headaches." Ally bursted out laughing. "You're so funny."

Beck moved his knight at one of Ally's pieces, cornering her king. Her eyes widened and she started clapping. Beck looked at Ally again. "What?" He asked. He still didn't completely understand the rules. Ally pointed at Beck's knight. "You have my king in check, he can't move, he's trapped, and that means you won."

Beck grinned and sat back. "I told you I'd win." Ally laughed. "You said no such thing." "You're right I didn't, I just wanted to see your reaction." Ally shoved Beck playfully, laughing again.

They were on the rooftop, overlooking the magnificent view of the city. It truly was beautiful, but not as beautiful as Ally's eyes. Every time Beck looked into the sparkling abyss, he always got lost in them for a while.

Ally stood up and walked to the edge of the rooftop, sitting on the outside of the ledge. She wasn't in any danger of falling, she had perfectly good balance. Beck walked over and sat on the edge next to her.

"I just can't get over this sight, it's amazing." Beck breathed. "Yeah." Ally agreed, she was smiling, like she was trying not to laugh. "What's up?" Beck asked, lifting an eyebrow. Ally started giggling. "You still have your pawn piece balanced on your head, it's so cute."

Beck felt around on his head, finding one of his chess pieces perfectly balanced on his head. "How'd you do that?" Ally giggled and took the pawn. "I can easily sneak around you, and you never seem to notice. And by the way, you have excellent balance." Beck bowed slightly while sitting on the edge. "Thank you."

Ally smiled. "You're welcome." She suddenly frowned. "What's wrong?" Beck asked. Ally glanced at Beck, and then looked down. "I'm just mildly bored, may I have a moment?" Beck cautiously nodded. "O-Okay, be careful. But may I ask what you're doing?"

Ally was reaching for a hidden compartment, pulling out a wing chute. Before Beck could say anything else, Ally jumped off the building. She then opened the wing chute and glided downward towards the ground.

Beck quickly glanced down at the secret compartment; it held a second wing chute. Making a quick decision, Beck grabbed the second chute, and jumped. He felt the wind rushing around him continuously, never ending until he came close to the ground.

Beck opened his wing chute and glided towards the ground. He didn't use these things very often, but he was still good at using them. Ally walked over to Beck, looking refreshed from her rush of excitement. "You know, it helps if you fly with your arms and legs out, and to land with your feet moving."

Beck smirked, and put a hand on his hip. "Well, it's not like you did any better than me." He teased. Ally stuck out her hip and lifted an eyebrow. "I did do better." Beck sighed in defeat. Ally walked Beck over to a bench and sat down with her head resting on his shoulder.

"There are things you can do that I can't, remember the fact that I'm not perfect with everything." Beck nodded. "But what can I do that you can't?" Ally shifted a little. "You're better at being on the safer side than I am." Beck laughed. "Seriously, what can I do?"

Ally thought for a moment, getting an idea. "You're gifted with fixing vehicles; I've seen you do it. Maybe you could be a mechanic, if you aren't already." Beck shrugged. "Maybe I could." Beck had taken that job under consideration, but no one leaves the Crim's clique and lives; Beck had known that for a while.

Beck lifted his arm and wrapped it around Ally's shoulder, pulling her closer. Ally closed her eyes as a breeze blew by, whipping her hair around. She looked so gorgeous. Ally looked up at Beck and smiled. When she said the words, Beck wasn't sure he heard her right. But what she said was true, and Beck heard it. "I love you."

Beck leaned in and whispered in her ear. "I love you too." They moved in closer to embrace each other in a kiss. When their lips met, an electrifying surge shot through Beck. He always enjoyed kissing, and he's only ever kissed Ally. And he was the happiest a program could ever get.

* * *

Beck gasped, and forced his eyes open. He sat up, trying to recover from everything that just happened. It started when he blacked out, then he had another memory/dream of Ally again. Even though it was getting less painful to think about her, it still hurt inside to remember.

He took three deep, calming breaths, trying to clear his mind. He suddenly looked up to see Paige standing in the doorway, a look of concern on her face. "Are you alright?" She asked, hesitantly taking a step inside. Beck looked down. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"Are you sure?" She strode across the room and sat on the bed. Beck nodded with a convincing smile. "Really, I'm fine." Paige wiped the concern off her face and reached for his disk. Upon impulse, Beck flinched away from her hand. Noticing Beck's actions, she moved her hand away. "Don't worry; I'm just going to examine your code.

Beck rubbed his eyes as Paige gently disconnected his disk. "What happened?" Beck asked. He was a bit confused because he was lying on his bed and not sitting in the living room. Paige raised an eyebrow. "You mean you don't remember anything?"

Beck shook his head. "Sorry, I don't remember anything after you and I sat with Zed and Mara in the living room. Speaking of which, where are they?" Paige lifted her hand in a gesture to tell Beck to slow down and relax. "Don't worry; Zed and Mara are back at work to continue the project. You were out for a really long time."

Beck's eyes widened. "That means we're heading back to Argon at the end of this cycle." Paige nodded. "Yeah, don't worry about it. Anyways, I'm surprised that you don't remember anything of what happened." When Beck tilted his head in question, Paige explained what happened to him, and told him about the risks and the two potential blackouts that could follow the recent one.

"But don't worry. Once the next two blackouts are done, you won't have any more trouble, I guarantee it." Beck nodded his head. "Okay, I guess that means I'm not going outside the apartment for the rest of the trip, or at least until I blackout two more times. That actually sounds weird since I'm talking like I'm anticipating that."

Paige laughed, and continued talking. "Unfortunately, I couldn't figure out when you would blackout the next two times, so you will be staying inside until we leave for Argon." Beck shrugged. "Okay, I'll be fine as long as I'm not treated like I can't handle myself."

Paige smiled as she helped Beck onto his feet. "Don't worry; I won't treat you like you're helpless." Beck turned towards Paige. "I can walk fine; I'll let you know if I feel tired or dizzy." Paige took a step back. "Okay, I'll give you your space… but can you walk down the stairs okay?"

Beck rolled his eyes and smiled. "Paige I feel perfectly normal, I'm fine right now. But I'm afraid that Zed and Mara are going to be more worried about me than you are. And by the way, you are acting like I'm helpless." Paige looked down and saw that she was supporting him, even when he told her he didn't need it.

"Oh, sorry. It's just… instinct to help others that need it. "Beck smiled. "But I don't need help right now." Paige looked at the floor. "I know… sorry." Beck looked at Paige, still smiling. "Don't be sorry, you're just making sure that I'm okay, but… just take my word for it from now on. Okay?"

Paige nodded as they reached the bottom of the stairs, heading for the living room. "Okay." Beck sat down in a chair, and talked with Paige more. Soon afterward, Zed and Mara ran inside, out of breath. Beck looked at them, raising an eyebrow. "Hey, what's up?"

Paige stood up. "Shouldn't you still be working on the project?" Zed and Mara both shook their heads. "The project is complete; we're no longer required to stay in Bismuth any longer." Beck and Paige both glanced at each other.

"Okay, our schedule has obviously changed a bit. When should we head back to Argon?" Beck asked. Mara answered straight away. "We're heading back to Argon, right now."


	33. Chapter 32

**Chapter 32**

Beck was sitting on the inside of his seat, next to Zed. Paige sat directly across from Beck, looking concerned. Beck had told after they boarded the train that he felt tired again. It was better to blackout right now on the train, than to do so later.

Zed and Mara glanced occasionally at Beck to make sure he was okay. Beck slowly turned towards Zed and Mara and lifted an eyebrow. "So, why do we need to head back to Argon now? You know that we could have stayed a while longer." Mara nodded. "I know, I just wanted to get back quickly because… we're needed… back at Able's Garage."

From the way Mara spoke, she wasn't lying, but there must be more to what she was saying. Beck understood the fact that they would be needed back at home, but Zed and Mara are hiding more than they are willing to share. Beck intended to get to the bottom of it, but his vision was starting to blur again.

Beck rested his head against the seat and closed his eyes. Paige reached across the table and took his wrist in her hand, feeling his energy pulse. "He's in sleep mode. That means he'll blackout one more time before his coding is back to normal."

Zed raised an eyebrow quizzically. "How do you know so much about medical codes?" Paige looked up at Zed as she put Beck's wrist down gently. "Um… it's part of my training to be a field commander. You definitely have to know the basics."

Zed shrugged and leaned back, trying to relax… but he looked tense, exhausted. Mara looked at Zed and smiled, taking his hand in hers. "Relax… you're nervous for no apparent reason. Take three deep breaths, it'll help you greatly." Paige smiled. She was happy for two programs.

Beck had told Paige that they weren't dating, but he was trying to set them up. By the looks of it, it's working pretty well. Paige sighed, leaning back into her seat. She hoped that this train wouldn't get sabotaged like the last two train rides to Bismuth were.

She glanced at Beck. He looked so calm and quiet, and cuter than usual. Paige pushed the thought to the back of her mind. Relationships weren't top priority, her job was the number one on her list. And her job right now, is to keep an eye on Beck, which should be pretty easy right now.

The train suddenly shook, nearly knocking Zed and Mara out of their seats. The lights flickered and went out. Very slowly, 'The Alpha's' emblem was starting to form. Everyone's eyes widened and programs started murmuring. Mara sighed. "We'll go get the lights back on."

Paige thought for a moment. "Wait, I'll come with. I want to find out who keeps vandalizing these trains." The three programs stood up, and headed for the generator. When they arrived, they saw that the wires that control the lights have been cut.

Zed and Mara sighed exasperatedly. "Jee, I wonder who did that." Zed spoke as if he was bored. Paige looked at the two programs. "Well, you can somehow turn them back on, can't you?" They looked back at Paige. "Of course we can." They knelt down and took out a recoder to fix the wire.

When the lights turned back on, the emblem-that was imprinted all over the cars-was gone. Paige's eyes widened and she turned back to Zed and Mara. "Wait, could you turn the lights back off?" They looked at each other and turned the lights back off. Paige saw the emblem glow in the dark again.

"That's weird, the graffiti glows in the dark." Zed took out another recoder and plugged it into the symbol, opening its code. "Actually, it's not graffiti." Paige narrowed her eyes. "Then… what is it?" Zed shrugged.

"I don't know. But whoever did this knows a lot about technology because it glows in the dark… and it doesn't come off either." Paige looked at Zed. "What?!" Zed looked at Paige. "I'm sorry, but there's nothing that anybody can do about this except to keep the lights turned on."

Paige nodded slowly. "Okay, turn the lights back on. I'm going to sit back down to keep an eye on Beck." They nodded. "Okay." Paige walked out of the control room, shaking her head. She sat down and looked at Beck. Thankfully, he was starting to recover and wake up.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" Paige said gently. Beck looked around, it was still dark. His eyes widened when he saw the glowing emblem. "Don't worry, Zed and Mara are working on the lights." Right after Paige said it, the lights flickered back on. Beck looked puzzled when the neon green symbol disappeared.

"It only glows when it's dark." Paige explained. Beck nodded, understanding what Paige said. Zed and Mara walked over and sat down. "There, it's fixed." Mara said with pride. Suddenly, a small explosion went off in the control room, killing the lights again. The only good thing was the fact that the explosion wasn't enough to ruin the train.

"Someone really likes the dark." Beck commented as Paige jumped out of her seat and ran to the control room. She wasn't going to let the vandals get away this time. She kicked the door open just in time to see two male programs turn and run right into another train car.

Paige drew her disk and pursued the two programs. They were pretty fast, but not fast enough to outrun Paige, she was gaining on them very quickly. Paige had a brief moment to get a visual of what they looked like. Their circuitry was ordinary citizen patterns. They each wore an armband that had 'The Alpha's' neon green emblem.

They ran through another door and disappeared. When Paige ran through the door, they both stuck out their legs and tripped her. She twisted around and watched as they ran back through the door and went back the way they came. She could still see them though as she got up and chased after them again.

They weren't going to get away from Paige that easily. She was starting to catch up again as they ran back through the control room and through another car. She ran right past the booth where Beck, Zed, and Mara were sitting. They stared at Paige in confusion as she boarded the next car.

Paige stopped and looked around. She couldn't find the two culprits anywhere, they had just… disappeared. She sighed in frustration as she put her disk back and walked back to her seat. Beck looked at Paige. "Didn't you catch the two programs?" Paige held up her hand. "Don't say it, just forget that this happened."

Mara spoke. "So, what did the explosion do to the wires? Were they destroyed?" Paige thought for a moment, trying to remember what happened to the wires. "Yeah, the wires are completely destroyed. I'm not even sure if there **are** any wires anymore."

They sat in silence for a while on the dark train. Beck, Zed, and Mara were sort of confused as to what happened. Paige folded her arms and remained silent from her easy defeat. She wasn't going to get over this for a while. None of the two programs were the Renegade, which was for sure. So, who were they? And why were they so dedicated to keep the lights off?

There were so many unanswered questions wheeling through Paige's mind as the train got closer and closer to Argon City. "Now approaching Argon City, please wait until the train is at a complete stop before exiting." The computer voice boomed through the speakers.

Zed, Mara, and Beck all got up at the same time. "Well… I guess this is where we part." Beck said to Paige as she stood up. "Yeah, I'll see you around." Paige turned and walked away, looking back once to smile at Beck. Beck smiled back. Mara grinned as she gently pushed Beck forward. "Alright, let's go now, lover boy. We're almost off the train."

Beck glanced back at Mara, smirking. "Well, look who's talking. I'd say that you have your own thing going on with someone." Mara's expression from what Beck had said was **priceless!** Beck couldn't stop himself from laughing as they got off the train.

The three programs took out their batons, rezzed their bikes, and sped off towards the garage. When they arrived at the garage, they derezzed their bikes back into batons and put them in their pockets. Beck suddenly felt tired again. "Hey guys, I think… I'm… gonna…" Beck fell to the ground, unconscious again.

For Zed and Mara, this was getting really funny. And what made this funnier, was the fact that Able was standing close by, and he saw the whole thing! :O


	34. Chapter 33

**Chapter 33**

Able stood there, staring. "Well… this is weird." Zed commented when it got awkward. Able looked up at Zed and Mara. "You really wanna know what's weird? It's the fact that Beck's lying, unconscious on the floor while you two are standing there, laughing. How do you feel now?"

Zed and Mara straightened up and explained, still trying not to laugh. "Sorry, we knew this would happen. It's no big deal; we'll just take him to his room now." As Zed and Mara picked Beck up and supported him, Able walked next to them, heading for the elevator. "What happened?" He asked, glancing at Beck.

Zed and Mara looked at each other. "Um… somebody punched him?" Able looked at Mara. "There's got be more than that." Mara sighed. "Yeah, he got ambushed by a small gang. He beat them all, but one of them punched him wrong and messed up his coding. That triggered several failsafe's in his coding, so his system will be fixing itself while he's out."

Able nodded. "Okay, that makes sense… but you shouldn't have been laughing like that, at least wait until we get him on his bed." Zed and Mara nodded. "You got it Abe." Zed said. Able looked at Zed. "Please don't call me that, I'm not **that** young anymore."

They all laughed. Dash walked by and looked at them weird, glancing at Beck briefly. "Hey guys… what's up?" They looked up… except Beck, who was still unconscious. "Hey Dash, we're just… getting Beck up to his dorm. It's been a rough cycle for him." Able nodded, understanding that Zed and Mara didn't want to explain everything all over again.

Dash shrugged and walked into the elevator as they got out. They opened Beck's bedroom door and put him on his bed. "When would he most likely wake up?" Able asked. Zed and Mara shrugged. "We don't know every time Beck's out for a different period of time. It gets longer each time."

Able nodded. "I'll excuse him from his upcoming shift, just to make sure he's okay. After that, everything will be back to normal." Able turned towards Zed and Mara. "Now you two can unpack anything that you need to, and get to work." They nodded. "See you, Abe." Zed shouted over his shoulder. Able sighed and palmed his face, that nickname really annoyed him.

Able walked out of Beck's room afterward, leaving Beck alone. Beck's eyes remained shut, not ready to come back to reality… yet.

* * *

Beck sat on the rooftop, cuddling with Ally. It was cold that night, and they didn't want to go home yet. Beck and Ally both expressed their feelings with each other; they didn't have much to hide anymore… except Beck's secret about being part of the Crims.

Every Crim was supposed to be proud that they're part of Neon's most feared gang, but the truth was, Beck didn't feel anything but shame. He's been part of the clique for so long that he couldn't even remember how he joined in the first place.

Ally's voice brought Beck back to reality. "Well, it's too cold to go out for swimming because the water is typically colder than the air. We'd freeze and shiver until we derezzed into little pieces." Beck looked at Ally. "Is it possible that a program could freeze to death like a user?"

Ally shrugged in Beck's arms. "I don't know, I've never heard of any programs dying from anything of the sort. I don't care to find out about that ourselves." Beck shuddered. "Yeah, that I agree with." Ally rested her head on Beck's shoulder and slowly exhaled, closing her eyes and enjoying her time of sitting next to Beck."

Beck pulled Ally closer, she smiled. "I love you." She whispered to Beck. It was the second time she had ever said that, he loved to hear it. Beck smiled and hugged Ally. "I love you too." He whispered back, just audible over the roaring wind that caressed their hair.

Beck closed his eyes too, enjoying the gentle, chilling breeze that constantly blew on them. They were no longer cold, they had each other, and that's all they needed.

Ally abruptly lifted her head and looked at Beck. "Beck?" Beck looked at her tenderly. "What is it?" Her eyes were still sparkling, but less. "Um… have you ever thought of a time when we would no longer be together?" Beck's eyes widened. "Well… not really. Actually I've never thought about that. I can't imagine a time without you."

Ally smiled, her eyes sparkled with joy as she leaned against Beck, snuggling with him again. "Yeah, I feel the same way. I don't want to ever part with you." Beck wrapped his arms around Ally once more, and rested his cheek against the top of her head.

Beck didn't look, but he was pretty sure that Ally fell asleep in his arms. He carefully turned her over, and looked at her face. She looked so much younger than she already was, and she was pretty young at the time. Her expression was relaxed, and calm.

She was so beautiful that Beck could spend the rest of his life, watching her sleep. Ally looked even prettier than she usually was. And she seemed to have a… glow to her, and it wasn't her circuitry. It was… her. Beck once heard the term, but he couldn't remember exactly what it was. _An angel?_

From what Beck understood, users believed in glowing people with wings that were so beautiful, people would stare at them until they were gone again. But Beck didn't want his angel to go away. Beck hugged her closer, knowing that she's safe… for now.

* * *

Beck gradually opened his eyes, focusing on his surroundings. He was lying on his bed inside his dormitory. He sighed, relaxing. _It felt good to be back._ Beck saw a small note on his side table, telling him that he's excused from his next shift.

He slowly, carefully got up and exited his dorm. As he walked down the hallway, he stopped by his locker to make sure the suit was still in its hiding place; sure enough, it was. Beck walked into the elevator and waited patiently for it to descend to the main floor of the shop.

Beck was going to see Tron, let him know that he had just returned to Argon City. The moment Beck stepped outside and pulled out his baton, he looked up and gasped. Beck pinched his arm to make sure that he still wasn't asleep. Unfortunately, he was awake, and the sight on the edge of the city… was real.

Beck saw a small yellow colored ship leading an entire army of various vehicles and recognizers. He knew it was real, it was happening, and he knew what it meant. Clu was here, he had just entered Argon. He was coming for Tron… and for him.


	35. Chapter 34

**Thank you so much for all the support and taking your time to make a breif review. I really appreciate it! :) Also, I might want to add that I changed the title and book cover again. I decided that I wouldn't cram everything into one book. I'm going to make a sequel to this one! But I'm not finished with this one yet so don't worry! There's more to come... XD**

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**Chapter 34**

Alpha walked down the hallways, carrying a musical instrument. It was called a monome player, it was very easy to use and it made the most beautiful music. The patients loved to hear her play; it always cheered them up and distracted them from any sort of pain that they were going through. It even distracted her from some of the painful memories of her past.

Alpha shook her head and walked through the door into the medical facility. Everyone's eyes brightened when they saw what she was holding. She carefully set down the monome. Alpha knew that this instrument was very popular a long time ago; she wouldn't be surprised if other programs still used it.

When she pressed a few buttons, the music practically played itself **for** her, which gave her the opportunity to check the patients' coding while they enjoyed the music. She walked by the younger soldier, who seemed to have made a full recovery. He was sitting on the bed, closed eyes and soaking in every note the monome played.

His eyes opened the moment Alpha took off his disk to examine his code. "Wow, you've recovered faster than I could've predicted." He smiled. Alpha had to admit to herself, he was cute… but she wasn't looking for any types of relationships. She looked deeper into his coding, searching for any more damage. There was none.

She closed his disk and placed it onto his back. "Well, all the damages were fixed. You're good to go." He placed a hand gently on her shoulder. "Thanks Alpha." She tensed when he called her that. She just wasn't used to being called that name anymore. "Um… no problem. But… come see me if you receive any other bad injuries."

He grinned as he got up and took his hand off her shoulder and walked away. "Okay, I'll see you around." Alpha simply walked down the row again, checking each patient's coding. Most of them had made a 100% recovery and they were authorized to leave the facility and return to their normal duties.

Alpha sighed and sat down in a chair. She was bored. It's been a while since the last time she was on the field. Alpha wasn't used to being cooped up inside the hospital, checking each program's coding every cycle.

She wanted to work on the field, and she hoped it was soon, because she was on the verge of having a spaz; which wouldn't help her at all, she was lucky that she wasn't in a mental hospital due to her condition.

_Wait a nanocycle._ She was 'The Alpha', all she had to do was ask for information about what was going on right now. She didn't care what was going on outside, just as long as it was on the field.

She got up and walked out of the medical center, leaving the monome player where it was to keep everyone entertained. "If anyone wants to be creative and type in any new patterns, feel free. I'm gonna be gone for a little bit, but I'll be back soon." They looked up and nodded as she exited the room.

Alpha marched down the hallways, heading for Chad's office next. He held all the files of everyone, and everything of what is or was going on. She stopped in front of the door to his office and took a deep breath before taking another step forwards. The sensors picked up her movement and slid open silently, welcoming her inside.

Chad stood in front of a large screen, looking at some files about some things that just came up. Alpha lightly stepped forward, careful to not interrupt him… not yet. She silently kept walking up to him and stopped right behind him.

She smirked mischievously under her mask as she lifted her hands and playfully pushed him forward, making sure to scare him. "Boo!" She shouted.

"Arrrrgh!" Chad screamed like a girl, and jumping so high that it was almost impossible. Alpha fell to the ground, laughing hysterically. "Oh man, you should see the look on your face right now. It's priceless!" XD

Chad just stared at her, not from the shock that she had scared him just a few moments ago, but the fact that something had happened. Alpha caught on and stood up. "Sorry, I had to do that." She tilted her head to the side, looking at the screen. "What's that?"

Chad glanced behind his back nervously, like he was trying to think of a way to word something bad, but important. Alpha lowered her head at him. "Chad…" He hesitantly looked up at her. "Alpha's voice lowered in concern and sympathy. "Please tell me." She spoke no louder than a whisper, though it wasn't necessary.

Chad sighed in defeat, then slowly nodded. "Okay… follow me." Alpha couldn't imagine what could possibly be wrong, she tried to change the subject and cheer him up at the same time, giving her extra time to think about what would've went wrong.

"Hey, I heard earlier this cycle that we managed to reclaim Bismuth. Isn't that great? Bismuth is now pronounced the only free city from Clu's clutches. I don't know about you, but I think we should try to free more Cities on the grid."

Chad nodded. "Yeah, we should spread the rebellion to other cities; free each, one by one." Alpha nodded. "Okay, where should we go next?" Chad abruptly stopped and turned to look at her. "We?" He asked. Alpha tilted her head. "Well… yeah. After all, I still am capable of carrying out field missions, no one said otherwise."

Chad turned around and continued walking, Alpha followed. "Well, if **we** do relocate to other cites, I recommend that we start with Argon City. But we have to be **very** careful." Alpha was confused. "But… why?" Chad stopped in front of the holographic screen and turned halfway towards her, while the other half of him was still facing the screen.

He took a deep breath to think about a proper way to answer her without getting her too upset. "Well… Clu sent a giant army to take absolute control of Argon. It would be very dangerous if it was the first City that we relocated to."

Alpha thought for a moment. "Well… it's no biggie, it's the Renegade's home. I'm sure he'd still keep fighting. I say we should relocate there immediately." Chad didn't argue right after her orders.

"Um… I'm aware that you're deciding this for the good of the grid and its citizens, but we really need to think about this." Alpha turned and looked directly at Chad. She remembered that since she was 'The Alpha', she was technically the leader of the Resistance.

"It'll be fine Chad. Everyone that will be relocated can take their time to pack and get ready to leave." Chad shook his head. "That's not what I'm nervous about." She stopped and turned back to face him. "What do you mean?" Chad hung his head.

"Clu is… heading for the City as well." Alpha gasped. "Forget what I said, it's crazy." Chad lifted his head. "Really? Oh good, I was worried that you'd…" Alpha interrupted him. "We can't take our time, we need to relocate to Argon… and I mean **right now**!"

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**Okay, so Alpha's relocating the Resistance Movement to Argon due to Clu arriving there as well. What do you think will happen next? Expect some new updates soon! Please take some 20 seconds or less to share your opinion on the book/chapter so far and review! :) And remember... TRON LIVES! XD**


	36. Chapter 35

**Yeah, I know... I've updated chapters faster than this one. Sorry about the wait, I was very busy lately. Well, enough about that, here's my latest chapter. Enjoy! :)**

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**Chapter 35**

Paige marched down the hallways of the base, heading for the throne room. As the doors slid open, Paige walked inside, noticing that Pavel was in deep conversation with a guard. Paige stood on the sidelines, patiently waiting for Pavel to finish his conversation.

When he was done talking, he turned away and saw Paige in the corner of his eye. He gasped, and he almost fell out of his chair. Paige lifted an eyebrow. "Um… Pavel, are you okay? You seem awfully tense." Pavel quickly recovered and waved away her worries.

"I'm fine! Don't you have the Renegade to chase around or something?" Paige shrugged and walked out of the room. Nothing new had happened that required her attention. She walked down the hallways towards the elevator to her room.

She wanted to unpack her belongings and get back to work. Paige picked up her data pad and checked her messages. She narrowed her eyes, noticing an edited copy of her assignment to watch Beck. She hesitantly opened the message.

It was nothing too important, this one just asked for her to reply back with her results. She shrugged and sat down on her bed, typing in everything that happened. She made sure they had the whole story of what happened and included details.

Paige had wondered from the start of why Beck was so noticeable and important to bring to Clu's personal attention. Whatever it was, it was either really good, maybe Clu wanted to make him a special offer of joining the army. But wait… the message had included that he was a suspect; it didn't say of what, but it was enough to make Clu suspicious.

This couldn't be good. Whatever it was, it was bad. Paige stood up and walked out of her room, she was going downtown. She wasn't sure why Beck was being accused, but whatever it was, she wanted to find out. And Paige didn't want anything to get in her way.

…

Beck could no longer stare at the sight; he **had** to get to Tron. Tron had told Beck that Clu wouldn't be looking just for Tron. He had told Beck that he was a major suspect of being the Renegade. Clu knows now that there's Tron, and there's a Renegade.

Beck flipped on his mask, and concealed his suit so he didn't have to wear it. As he jumped and rezzed his bike, he caught a glimpse of concern in Able's eyes as he sped past, heading for the outlands. As he walked into the elevator of the hideout, he felt nervousness rising up inside of him.

He knew that he had to be confident but the truth was he felt nothing but negativity. Beck didn't feel like he was ready to face what was coming his way. The doors opened and welcomed Beck into the large room that overlooked the outlands.

Tron stood by the window, he seemed to be deep in thought. As Beck walked up behind him, he turned around, startled to see Beck. But he recovered quickly. "Oh good, there you are. I was starting to worry that Clu had captured you."

Beck kept a straight face with a little concern for Tron. "Don't worry, I'm here now. Oh, and I'm sorry I snuck up on you." Tron gave off a halfhearted laugh. "Yeah… did you the horizon?" Beck nodded. "Oh yeah I did. I'm terrified, I don't feel like I'm ready for this yet."

Tron gripped Beck's shoulder firmly in a comforting manner. "I know how you're feeling, I feel the same way. But it **is** happening, and we'll need to train harder so neither of us will feel like that." Beck remembered something.

He took out the half disc and handed it back to Tron. "You're completely healed, I figured you might be missing this. I'm not quitting, I just don't need it anymore. I can use my recoder to change my outfit to that black suit that I've worn before. Besides, Clu knows there are two of us now, why should we bother hiding it?"

Tron narrowed his eyes as he took the disk back and held it in his hand for a while. He eventually smiled and nodded. "That sounds like a good plan, tricking the occupation." Beck grinned and stared at the disk. "Go on, you know you want to. Put it on."

Tron raised an eyebrow at Beck, who shrugged. "What? It was originally yours anyways, besides it looks better on you than it does on me." Tron put the suit back on, closing his eyes as his suit gradually turned from black to white.

Beck smiled. "Yeah, it definitely looks better on you." An idea suddenly came to Beck's mind, it was crazy and Tron would most likely say no, but it was an idea. "Hey Tron, if Clu and Dyson and whoever else, knows that you're alive, why don't the citizens know already?"

Tron looked up at Beck, thinking about that. "I don't know. I couldn't reveal myself back when I had the scars because that would only be a danger to you and me. But now that I'm healed… that changes everything." Beck smiled. "Programs all over the grid would fight against Clu if they knew that you were alive."

Tron held up his hand. "Slow down Beck. It's true that more programs would rebel or be more dedicated to the cause, but we'll have to be more careful. Doing something like that could really upset Clu, who isn't easy to upset. If you ever meet him, you may notice that he's usually very calm."

The way that Tron described Clu sent chills down Beck's spine. The more he heard, the less eager he was to meet Clu, which were pretty low standards already. Clu seemed more… creepy instead of evil. Beck shook his head and tried to get back on topic.

"Okay, I know we'll have to put a lot of thought into this plan, but this could be a great advantage for us." Tron nodded. "That does sound like a good plan. We'll do that eventually… but not anytime soon." Tron leveled his eyes with Beck.

"You remember what I said about Clu suspecting you of being a rebel?" Beck nodded. Tron continued. "Well… be careful, because if he does come for you, it would be when you least expected it." Beck nodded. "Er… got it, I'll be careful."

Tron then turned around. "I suggest now that you meet up with your friends before you start to raise more suspicion." Beck turned and ran out of the room. "Darn it! Zed and Mara will be worried sick when they realize that I'm gone!"

Tron looked back out the window and watched as Beck rode his lightcycle through the outlands, heading for the garage. "Be very careful Beck." Tron said under his breath. Clu wasn't the type of program to underestimate, and Tron knew that from experience.

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**I want some opinions, who wants to see Alpha next chapter? :)**


	37. Chapter 36

** I feel so bad that one of my reviewers, Jillian has to move... But I wish him a good one. Okay, so I got a lot of requests, asking me to give out a little more info. on Alpha. So... here you go! :) Sorry I didn't do the half and half thing, I'll do it other time though. =D**

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**Chapter 36**

Alpha walked down the hallway, heading for the medical center to retrieve her monome player. She then heard someone running behind her. When she turned around, she was surprised to see Chad heading for her. "Hi Chad, what's up?"

He stopped right in front of her. "Alpha?" She nodded. "Yes?" He hesitated. "There's been a slight mishap with the relocation. We can't start at Argon, I'm afraid we'll have to start with Gallium instead." Alpha sighed in frustration.

"Why Gallium? I thought we were supposed to take the fight directly to Clu." He nodded. "I know, I know. We'll just have to go with the flow and right now, Gallium needs our help more desperately than Argon. You didn't tell anyone about the relocation yet, did you?"

Alpha shook her head. "Nope, I'm just gonna go fetch my monome and pack up… and head to Gallium." Chad gave her thumbs up. "Great, be sure to not tell anyone about this yet. I'll organize who's going to Gallium and who's staying behind to keep an eye on the facility."

Alpha turned and walked away towards the medical center again. As she neared the door, she heard a faint beeping. She started running, getting closer. She didn't acknowledge the black guard as the doors slid open the moment she got close.

When she entered, she saw on the monitor, a large ship heading towards Bismuth to reclaim the city. She studied the large ship. It was pretty small compared to others she's dealt with. She could take on an entire fleet if she wanted to, but she wouldn't be that foolish.

Alpha turned towards the nearest program. "Could you please assemble a squad of soldiers to accompany me on this undercover operation?" She nodded and ran out of the medical room to go get a small group of black guards to assist her during this field mission.

_It's about time that I got something to do outside of this facility. I'll make the most of this thrill ride before relocating to Gallium._ As Alpha neared the doors to exit the hospital, the program came rushing back, out of breath.

"They're ready for you ma'am, standing inside the main entrance and will depart the moment you ask them to." Alpha nodded. "Thanks." The doors let her out again. She quickly rushed to her bedroom to fetch something before she left.

Her bedroom door opened and she ran inside. She opened a small drawer to get a small golden armband, and a small radio that would release a distress signal in case anything went wrong. Chad had been bothering her to get one since she had become the leader.

She turned and exited her room and marched to the main entrance, where the small squad of black guards was waiting for her. She noticed that among them, was that one black guard who she treated on the hospital for the past few cycles. He nodded a friendly hello to her as she got closer.

Alpha stopped in front of them. "Before we leave, I recommend that we change our circuitry colors so we… blend in better. '**Operation: 'Internal Takedown'.**" They nodded and drew their disks to change their colors to the government orange.

Alpha only changed her circuitry color, not her designs, so now she looked like an occupation scientist… except for the really high heels that she always wore. That specific feature always made her stand out from the other medics.

_I look a little like Keller used to._ She had known about Keller. Keller was an occupation scientist who defected from Tesler's army and tried to escape to Bismuth. Unfortunately, she never got away.

Alpha put the golden armband on her right arm. It had a unique symbol on it, showing that she was a government medic, and she carried lots of government authority over soldiers.

When they were all done with their disguises, they took out their batons and rezzed their bikes. They rode through the streets, heading for the nearest ship. Things were about to get more exciting!

Alpha knew that she would have to only knock the heads of the drivers and turn the ship around without having her disguise identified. This was her favorite occupation outfit to wear, and she didn't want to cross this off the list as well.

They entered the large ship casually on their bikes. Alpha took off her bike's visor and saluted to the watchman, who nodded to her and let them pass. _They're so gullible._ Alpha rolled her eyes. They were always so easy to trick when you were dressed like them.

They stopped their bikes and turned them back into batons. As they marched through the hallways of the base, Alpha strode next to the young soldier. "You know, I never got your name." He glanced at her, but she couldn't tell his facial expression behind his mask. "My name is Skipper."

Alpha held out her gloved hand. "Nice to officially meet you, Skipper." He nodded and whispered under his breath. "Same for you Alpha. It's a true pleasure to work with you on the field, I won't let you down."

She let go of his hand. "I'm confident that you won't." She abruptly stopped and held up her hand for the other soldiers to stop as well. She turned around and looked at two black guards. "You two stay here until I return, we'll try to do this quietly and effectively. And we shouldn't be gone for too long."

She then turned to Skipper. "You and I will continue on with them to knock some heads and rig this monster to fly all the way back to Tron City where it came from. We'll use this strategy throughout the mission on this ship unless I say not to."

The rest of the soldiers nodded and stood tall, either guarding the vent that the others would sneak into, or preparing to climb inside after her. Alpha was the first to crawl inside, Skipper followed, after him were some extra black guards.

After five nanocycles of crawling, Alpha stopped and pulled out a map. She sighed with relief, she was worried that they had gotten lost, but she was going in the right direction the whole time. Alpha's infiltrated these types of ships before; it had just been a while since she last did something on the field.

Skipper looked at the map. "We're almost there, you must know your way around these bases. I assume it's from lots of experience?" Alpha smiled under her mask and nodded. "Yeah, but it's been a while since I last did a field mission Skip-"

Alpha turned and looked at him. "You know what; could I call you Sky during the field missions?" He tilted his head to the side, thinking about his new nickname. He nodded soon after. "Yeah, I actually like that new name. I'd love to be called that."

Alpha then turned and started crawling again. They were almost there… Oh! They were now located just above the drivers. Alpha turned to her team and made a series of coded symbols with her hands, quietly telling the group about her plan.

Sky nodded whispered. "Got it." The soldiers and Alpha moved to their positions. On Alpha's mark, they broke through and took out every soldier and pilot quietly and effectively. They were so fast that they were a blur of black and orange.

Alpha was better than all of them. She was so good at this; she made ninja assassins look like amateur babies. Though programs didn't know what babies were, because it wasn't on their list of many definitions.

Once every occupation soldier and pilots were knocked out, they were all cuffed and locked in a closet. Thankfully, no alarm was triggered or set off, or there would have been drastic results. Alpha then ran over to the pilot's controls to rig this ship to not stop flying until it got all the way back to Tron City.

_A little surprise gift for Clu when he gets back._ Alpha thought to herself, smirking. When she was done, she turned to the other guards. "Alright, someone give me a boost so I can slide that vent's panel back into place."

One of the black guards knelt down and locked his fingers together to give her a boost. Alpha placed her foot in his hands and he lifted her off the ground. Alpha had very good balance, so standing in his laced hands without gripping anything for support, was just the little things she could do, she wasn't even wobbly.

When she moved the thin square of metal back into place, she stepped down and helped the black guard back onto his feet. The base was already starting to turn around. Sky cleared his throat and spoke up. "Um… not meaning to rush you Alpha, but we're starting to turn around.

Alpha rested her hand on his shoulder. "I know, we'd better get going before we're noticed. In fact, we might need to walk really fast before this thing gets too fast to jump off of." Sky looked at her. "Wait… what?" She looked at him as she started walking towards the door.

"Oh… yeah. I rigged this thing to move at a speed so fast that anyone who'd try to escape would get derezzed. The soldiers on this base would be trapped on this base until it reached its destination." The doors slid open, and they all walked out in an orderly fashion.

When they got to the landing zone, they opened a panel in the floor and one by one, they jumped through and activated their wing chutes. Alpha realized that she'd forgotten one.

She turned to go and grab one, but someone grabbed her wrist… it was Sky. "What are you doing?" His voice was no louder than a whisper. Alpha turned to face him directly, she noticed that it was just her and Sky on the ship now. "I forgot my wing chute, I'm gonna quickly grab one."

He pulled her towards him, gripping her firmly. "There's no time to get one." Alpha tried to pull herself out of his grasp, but he was too strong. Sky turned and pulled Alpha down through the small hole with him, closing the panel behind them.

He adjusted his grip on her, and got ready to jump. Alpha had no idea how strong he really was it was so weird, but then again, she shouldn't judge programs by their appearance, but by their actions. She suddenly felt the rush of air around her and the feeling inside her told her that they were falling.

Sky opened his wing chute, and they both landed carefully on the ground. Alpha looked up at him. "Next time, let me know when you're going to grab me and do that again." He laughed and let go of her.

Alpha took a few steps back and looked around. She couldn't see the rest of the soldiers anywhere. Sky lifted his mask and shrugged, clearly not knowing where his fellow comrades were either. "Let's look around and try to find them." He suggested.

Alpha nodded and began walking through the streets, pulled along by the arm by Sky. Sky suddenly stopped and held her back. "What is it?" She asked. "Shhhh…" Sky quietly replied. Alpha remained silent as they tried to make out the sounds that were gradually getting louder.

Turns out it was just the squad of black guards, but they changed their circuitry back to white. Sky had his mask off, so they recognized him. "Oh good you're both okay, we were worried that you never made it off the base."

Alpha laughed under her mask. "I always make it out of a situation." She turned and looked at the large base that she infiltrated, which was definitely going fast because it was almost too small to see now.

She saluted her accompanists, who did the same for her. "It was great working with you, soldiers. We should get back to the base now before Chad gets too worried about me." They all stifled their laughs, they all knew how overprotective Chad was to Alpha.

As they walked back into the facility, Chad was leaning against the wall, waiting. Alpha groaned. "Oh boy, here we go." This lecture wasn't going to be very fun.

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**Oh boy, Alpha's really gonna get it! Anyways, there's lots of romance in the air for Beck, Ally, Paige, Zed, Mara, Alpha, Sky (Skipper), and Chad! Who loves romance? I do! Expect more chapters soon! I'm gonna add a little twist to my story in later updates! You'll eventually figure it out! TRON LIVES! XD**


	38. Chapter 37

**Sorry for the long wait, I decided to make a really long chapter. It's the longest chapter I've typed so far! Glad to get this one off my chest. Enjoy! :)**

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**Chapter 37**

Paige rode her bike all the way to Able's Garage. _Beck has to still be there._ Paige thought. But she wouldn't be too surprised if he was nowhere to be found.

When Paige arrived, she derezzed her bike back into a baton and walked inside. She looked around the large room and immediately spotted Zed and Mara, each working on a lightcycle. They looked at Paige and waved to her, in a friendly fashion.

Paige smiled and walked over to them. Mara spoke first. "Hi Paige, nice to see you again. What brings you here, to see Beck?" Mara smirked jokingly, she knew that Paige and Beck really liked each other and Paige promised to keep in touch.

Paige smiled wider and nodded. "Yeah, actually I came here looking for him. I'm looking to discuss something with him." Mara frowned slightly. Paige tilted her head to the side. "What's wrong?" Paige asked.

Mara looked down slightly. "Um… Beck's not here right now. But our shifts are almost finished. We'll help you find him when we're done." Paige nodded and sat down on the floor, watching them. She had always been fascinated how quickly Beck could organize damaged code.

Zed and Mara were just as good as him. It only felt like Paige just sat down when they said that they were done. When Paige stood up, they all walked out of the garage together. Zed and Mara talked about all the possible locations that Beck could be, and eliminated all of the places that he most likely wouldn't be around.

Mara spoke of the most likely place Beck would be at right now. "Well… we could check the club. Beck sometimes goes there whether Zed and I go with him or not."

Paige nodded slowly. "Okay, let's go check it out." They all rezzed their bikes and headed for the club. But on the way there, an accident blocked off the entire road, forcing the three programs to take the only detour on their left.

They rode through a small alleyway, which seemed to get narrower the longer they rode their bikes through. Paige shrugged it off at first, but when her leg was starting to brush the wall, she knew that it was too narrow to ride their bikes through. Zed and Mara noticed this as well and turned their bikes back into batons, walking the rest of the way.

This particular area of the alley was dark; there was very little light in the area that they could barely see each other besides their circuitry. Zed and Mara shivered, creeped out from everything about this place. Paige turned to look at them. "Uh, do you guys know where we are?"

Zed shook his head and gripped Mara's hand tightly. "Nope, we've never been here before, and I wish it stayed that way." They kept walking until they came to a dead end. Suddenly, what little light that illuminated the alley shut off, leaving the three programs in pitch black. Zed spoke again. "Um… was that supposed to happen?"

The alley echoed with eerily calm laughter, one that Paige thought was so familiar… Zed and Mara gasped, fear frozen on their faces. Paige looked at them and vaguely noticed that they were looking up, when she looked in the direction they were, she gasped as well.

Someone was standing on a platform, grinning mischievously. "What? No hello? No happy greeting?" He jumped down and the three programs backed away, only to run into the other wall. Paige knew who it was, but she thought that he died.

What was the scariest of all, was the fact that he seemed to not remember any sort of incident, he just kept smiling. This probably didn't mean anything good. Paige didn't want to be part of this, Zed and Mara didn't seem too thrilled either.

Zed and Mara somehow managed to get to the open side of the alley, they could get away, yet they lingered, waiting for Paige. Paige looked at them as if they needed to be told just to blink. "What are you waiting for? Go, get out of here! I'll follow once I deal with this guy."

They glanced at each other with uncertainty. Page rolled her eyes and shouted at Zed and Mara to get out of there, and that everything would be okay. They nodded and ran away from the scene, silently promising to get help.

They felt deep down that they shouldn't have listened to Paige and somehow found a way to help her. It was too late to turn back now though. Paige wanted them safe and to get away, and that was her top priority. She didn't want to fail Beck by letting this program hurt them.

Paige backed up against the wall. She didn't have much space; it was only a narrow, dead end. He had her cornered and there was nothing but walls. He slowly advanced on her when she pressed herself against the wall and hoped for a miracle.

He looked at Paige and grinned at her with evil intensions showing on his face. Paige would never have to admit it because it was obviously shown on her face. She was scared, and there was nowhere to run. No one could hear her scream when he grabbed her and dragged her away.

…

Zed and Mara kept running until they got out of the alley, panting and trying to catch their breath. Mara tried to calm herself by taking deep, calm breaths. "We shouldn't have left Paige and run off like cowards." Mara said. "He probably has her now. I can't even imagine how she feels."

Zed looked at Mara and took her hand, squeezing it reassuringly. "Don't worry, we can save her. We just have to find some help. Besides, Paige wouldn't stop yelling at us until we ran. She probably didn't want Beck to lose us."

Mara nodded and Zed held her in his arms, trying his best to calm her down. At first, Zed thought that the Renegade might be able to help. He knew that the Renegade doesn't get along with Paige very well, but he was their only hope.

"Come on." Zed said, letting go of Mara and gently pulling her along by the hand. "Let's go find Tron; he'll know what to do." Mara nodded again and allowed her to be pulled along with Zed. They couldn't tell Able or Beck.

They weren't about to put Able's life in danger again because it didn't end very well last time. Beck would understand, but he's probably incapable of dealing with Cyrus. So that only left them with the option of turning to the Renegade, they hoped that Paige would understand.

They kept running through the streets, not really expecting the Renegade to come to them, but to look for something that would attract the Renegade's attention. Then, out of nowhere, an explosion went off near Argon Square.

Zed and Mara looked at each other and knew immediately where the Renegade would be right now. They ran towards the scene, hoping they would find the Renegade and save Paige before it was too late.

…

Beck cruised through the outlands, heading back to the garage, thinking about what Tron had told him. _'Clu would capture you when you least expected it.'_ Beck would have to keep his guard up all the time… and sleep with one eye open, literally.

He felt exhausted, but not the 'about to blackout' type of exhausted. Beck started thinking about what Zed and Mara were doing right now. Beck parked his bike in the garage and derezzed it back into a baton. Putting it in his pocket, walked up to his dorm to think in privacy.

When he stepped off the elevator, he made his way to his bedroom and sat down on the bed to think of various strategies in case Clu did come for Beck. He had multiple plans for the garage, the club, etc. He just wanted to make sure that he was prepared.

Beck sighed and stood up. His shift was about to start. He left his dorm and went to his locker to get his recoder, and then he stopped. Beck saw something under the shelf of his locker.

He looked underneath and saw the half disk that contained the white suit. Attached to the half disk was a small note. It said:

_Keep it until I come up with a good plan to reveal myself._

_-T_

Beck shrugged. It didn't really matter who had the disk, not yet at least. He'll keep wearing the suit whenever he needs to save someone's life until Tron decides to reveal himself. Beck deleted Tron's note but before shutting his locker, he remembered something.

Beck reached into one of his pockets and pulled out the small device that Tron gave him. He was about to put it in his locker, but held it for a moment, thinking. He eventually just slipped it back into his pocket and shut his locker. If he **was** caught by Clu's forces, he would want some help.

Beck was about to walk into the elevator, when he saw an explosion in the distance. _That can't be good._ Beck turned around and went back to his locker to get the suit. After retrieving the half disk, Beck snuck out a back door and put on the white suit and mask. He then took out his baton and headed for the scene.

Whatever happened with the explosion, it didn't take a genius to figure out that it wasn't good. When Beck arrived at Argon Square, he hid in an alley and watched for a few nanocycles, learning that it was just an incident caused by a group of reckless gangsters. The occupation was already leading them away in handcuffs.

Beck was turning to leave and found himself face to face with both Zed and Mara. He gasped in surprise, and took a moment to recover. "What are you guys doing here?"

Mara bit her lip, trying to figure out how to word their situation. "Um, we have problem. There was an accident and Paige got… kidnapped."

Beck stopped dead, staring at Mara. "Wait… What?!" Mara looked down at the ground.

"I'm sorry, we tried to help her but she told us to leave her behind to go get help. I doubt that this is what she had in mind, but you're our only chance of rescuing her."

Beck looked at Mara, slowly processing what he had heard and nodded. "Don't worry about it, I'll get her back. But… who captured Paige?" Zed and Mara looked at Beck with sad faces. He didn't like where this was going. Mara spoke the name with a shaky voice. "Cyrus…"

Beck nearly passed out from what he just heard. He saw Cyrus die; Paige threw her disk right through him. Cyrus turned into a pile of pixels, and then Tron and Beck made sure that his disk was disposed of. Beck cleared his throat, asking one more question. "Where did this happen?"

Zed and Mara took a few brief moments to thoroughly explain everything. When they were done, Beck nodded and walked away. "You two should go home; I'll take care of the rest."

"But-" Mara started to protest, but Beck wouldn't hear of it.

He turned around sharply, cutting Mara off before she could say another word. "Mara, listen to me, I can't risk putting you or Zed in danger. It's bad enough that Paige's life is at risk, I don't want yours in that situation too. Cyrus is not the kind of program to mess with, and I know that from experience."

Mara backed away. "Right then, we'll just go now." Zed pulled Mara in the direction of the Garage and waved goodbye to the Renegade.

Beck said one more thing before they left. "Hey!" They turned and looked at him. "Be safe." Mara nodded as Zed continued to lead her away to Able's Garage.

Beck took a deep breath as he rezzed his lightbike and headed for the alley that Zed and Mara were talking about. He found it without a problem. He cautiously entered; unaware of what would happen next.

…

Chad kept a straight face with Alpha when he grabbed her upper arm and pulled her through the hallway to a more… private area. When they entered his office, he shut the door behind him and sighed deeply as Alpha changed her outfit back to normal and put her armband in her pocket.

Chad pinched the bridge of his nose before turning towards Alpha. "What in the name of 'Kevin Flynn' were you thinking?!" Alpha groaned in frustration as she tilted her head back.

"Listen Chad, I didn't infiltrate that base alone. I assembled a squad of black guards to accompany me. No one got hurt, and Bismuth is still a free city. I don't see how there are any negative outcomes of this."

Chad pounded his fist against his desk. "You don't understand, do you? You put your life at risk by infiltrating that oversized base. And on top of that, you left on a field mission without letting me know. I've been worried sick that you'd never come back alive."

What Chad said annoyed her. "You know what? I don't think I have to clear **everything** with you or tell you when I just leave the facility for about a hundred nanocycles. I'll bet you my emblem that no one treats the Renegade like he's helpless."

Chad shook his head. "This is different Alpha and you know it. You are the leader and figure of the Resistance Movement. You need to be alive to fight in the very end."

Alpha thought about this for a moment, considering it. "But, what about the Renegade? Shouldn't he fight in the end as well? He fights right now and takes more risks than I do."

Chad shook his head slightly and smirked. "Alpha, you fail to realize that your skills make the Renegade, look like someone who doesn't know what _'punch' _means." Alpha started laughing. Chad smiled, glad that he talked some sense into her and kept her in a positive attitude.

"Okay, now go pack up. You and I will be transported to Gallium along with most of the soldiers. We'll leave enough programs and guards to defend and keep an eye on the city while we're not here." Alpha nodded and left Chad's office, heading to her room.

Alpha packed up all of her belongings; her digital devices/ instruments, minor things to add to her disguises, etc. All of her stuff easily fit into a small satchel that fit over her shoulder.

She walked out of her room and went to the medical center. The room was almost empty, saving the doctors and patients that had to stay. She walked over to the center of the room to pick up her monome. Another medic glanced over at the instrument. "I'll miss that little thing." She said longingly.

Alpha thought for a moment, thinking. She turned to the doctor and handed it to her. "You keep it." Her face brightened but hesitated to take it. Alpha reassured her. "I insist, I can always get another one. They're very common in Gallium." The medic nodded slowly as she took it in her hands and smiled her thanks to Alpha.

Alpha walked out of the hospital, feeling good about herself for doing that small, simple gesture of kindness. She wasn't lying to the medic when she said that monomes were common. They were old, but they were very popular in Gallium.

She walked to the main room of the facility to listen to how they would transfer the programs to Gallium. This would be funny. How could you transport hundreds of programs on lightcycles and light jets without attracting much attention. The occupation would know that something was wrong.

Chad stepped up to explain to everyone to how they would transfer. Some would take long routes through other cities on either lightbikes or jets. Others would go directly through the outlands road or the outlands itself, through a more variable choice of vehicles.

Another group would even go on light boats, while Alpha, Chad, and the rest of the groups would go through the underground tunnels. Alpha didn't even know that they had underground tunnels, she had so much more to learn.

When Chad was finished talking and giving out instructions, everyone left the room to head for Gallium in their designated routes. Alpha followed Chad to where the 'tunnels' were. They really were underground tunnels. "Why didn't you tell me that there were underground tunnels?" Alpha said to Chad.

He chuckled. "You never asked." Alpha sighed and waited for the late programs to get to the entrance. She heard someone call her name.

"Hey, Alpha." She turned towards the programs who called her name. Of course, it was Sky.

Alpha smiled under her mask. "Hi, Sky." He grinned as he shook her hand firmly in a friendly 'hello'. Alpha smirked. "You're late." She accused.

He nodded. "I know, my squad leader was trying to decide whether I should even go or not. Thankfully, one of my colleagues was nice enough to stay behind, allowing me to go. Everyone knows how well you and I get along." Alpha laughed as she punched his chest playfully.

"Yeah, we're so nice." She was interrupted when Chad called her over to him, and told her that they were departing now. "Let's go!" Alpha said enthusiastically as she pulled Sky along with her by the hand to meet up with Chad.

Chad lifted an eyebrow when he saw Alpha walk up to him. "Who's this?" He asked. Alpha introduced Sky.

"This is Skipper, everyone calls him 'Sky' for short." Chad nodded as he waved both of them along. Sky and Alpha were both taken by surprise when Chad told them that they would share a lightbike. "Why?" Alpha asked.

Chad looked up and explained. "There are hundreds of programs that will go through these tunnels and we need to save space for other bikes. And since you both seem to get along pretty well, I'm saying that you two should ride together."

Sky shrugged and nodded, understanding Chad's point. Alpha wasn't sure, she was starting to think that she was being 'set up' with Sky. Sky interrupted her thoughts by talking. "Come on, we're the first programs to leave." He said as he pulled out his baton and rezzed it, waiting for Alpha to get on behind him.

Alpha sighed. She didn't like being the kind of girl who rides behind the guys. She should show Sky sometime of what she can really do, because he treats her like she's helpless. He's a little like Chad, but at least he cuts her some slack.

Alpha walked over and got on behind Sky, holding his midsection for support and to stay on. Sky revved the engine a couple of times before he took off. Chad was following close behind, followed by the other programs.

This was going to be a while before they reached Gallium. Alpha sighed and rested her bead against Sky's back, starting to feel tired. She hadn't slept in a while. Alpha secured herself to the bike and closed her eyes, letting herself slide into oblivion.

The next time she opened her eyes, she was lying on a bed. _Nice one._ She thought to herself sarcastically. She had fallen asleep during the ride to Gallium. She got up and walked around her new room to see the different features. Surprisingly, there wasn't much of a difference with her room. Was she dreaming?

She left her room to find Chad or Sky to make sure that they **did** relocate. She saw Chad walking through the hallways. "Chad!" She shouted. He turned around to look at her.

"Oh good, you're awake. You were out cold when we arrived in Gallium." She looked around for anything unique.

"This place looks the same as the one in Bismuth." Chad nodded.

"I know. I'll give you a heads up. Every underground hideout we have, looks exactly the same. But I can assure you, we are in Gallium."

Alpha looked around again. "It's so quiet." Chad leaned against the wall.

"That's because most of the soldiers are dealing with most of the problems right now. Once we're done with that, we'll try to relocate to Argon next unless there are worse situations in other cities as well."

Alpha was shocked. "Wait, you sent everyone out on missions and left me out?! How could you do something like that?!"

Chad looked bored. "I did that because you were sleeping and you need to be alive throughout the war. You inspire hope for programs just as much as the Renegade does."

Alpha sat down cross-legged on the floor. "Yeah, I understand that. But I still want something to do besides stay cooped up in the hospital or sitting in my room all the time."

Just then, the alarms went off. "Oh jeez, what now?!" Chad stood up and headed for the hospital, Alpha followed close behind. When they stepped through the entrance to the hospital, Alpha gasped. One squad of soldiers took a fair beating on the field.

Alpha ran over to the closest soldier to start working on his code. But the moment she disconnected his disk, she noticed something attached to it. It was small and it flashed every other second. Panic rose up inside of her as she realized what it was.

She looked around and saw Sky uninjured and helping to bring in the injured programs. Alpha had to yell really loud to get everyone's attention. "Everyone! Shut up!" The whole room went silent almost immediately.

Chad looked at Alpha with disbelief. "Alpha… what's wrong?"

Alpha held up one of the victim's disk in answer and pulled off the small device. "The hideout's location is compromised." Chad's eyes widened. Just then, an explosion shook the entire facility.

Chad turned towards Sky. "Get Alpha out of here. Don't take the tunnels, find the nearest open exit and go into hiding in Argon City."

Alpha looked at Chad. "No way! I'm not leaving, I can't leave you guys alone. I won't do it! I can't abandon my priorities!" Chad looked at Sky, with that expression to get out immediately.

Alpha was uncooperative and wouldn't budge. "There's no way I'm running away like a coward, I'll stay and fight!"

Chad took Alpha's shoulder. "You can fight another day." Alpha shook her head.

Sky took Alpha's wrist and tried to pull her along, but she still wouldn't move. Chad shouted at everyone to check the patients' disks to check for trackers before getting them out of the facility.

Alpha was determined to stay and fight, but Sky was determined to follow Chad's orders and get her to safety. After Alpha struggled against him some more, Sky was running out of time to get out.

Chad and the other programs left the room to a secret exit. Alpha knew she couldn't come with because of all the risks and dangers. They were going to fight, but Alpha had to go into hiding. The occupation intentionally caused this trouble so they could lure them into Gallium instead of Argon.

Alpha twisted out of Sky's grip and ran out the door to the hospital. Sky ran after her to try and get her to safety. Alpha stopped when she got in the hallway. Another explosion shook the facility so hard, that Alpha lost balance and fell onto the floor.

One of the many doors in the hallway got blown off its hinges and flew across the hallway. Alpha looked through the broken doorway and gasped. _This isn't good._ Standing in the distance, mask on, and flanked by black guards… was Clu.

"Alpha!" Sky saw the broken door and flipped on his mask before he stepped into the hallway to help Alpha onto her feet. Clu glanced at the two programs and smiled coldly. _Definitely not good._ Alpha drew her disk and threw it. Clu stepped back effortlessly and watched as the disk missed its target and flew back to Alpha.

She caught her disk and was about to throw it again, when her backup came. A squad of black guards with white circuitry broke through another door. They noticeably didn't have their disks. _Smart._ Alpha thought with a smile.

"Let's go!" Sky said as he grabbed her wrist and pulled her away from Clu. Alpha refused to run though, she was going to stay and fight. But before Alpha could make another move, Sky literally picked her up and threw her over his shoulder.

He started running away from the scene, with Alpha struggling to get down. But Sky was strong, he wasn't going to let her down anytime soon. "Sky! What are you doing?! We're losing our opportunity to win this thing!"

Sky shook his head. "No, you're losing the opportunity of getting captured. I'm not gonna lose you, not after the war just started." Alpha felt dizzy, not only did she not sleep for a while, but she was suffering from an energy withdrawal. She can't remember the last time she had a shot of energy.

Her surroundings started to get darker as she felt more and more tired. She couldn't stay awake any longer and passed out.

* * *

**The next chapter might also take a while to write. Sorry about that, but I'm confident that the outcome will be worth the wait. (I suppose it's a matter of opinion) I'll get working on my chapter immediately! :)**


	39. Chapter 38

**Sorry it took me a while on this chapter... I was VERY busy. But I'm done now. Enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter 38**

Paige couldn't feel anything, her eyes were closed. She tried opening them several times, but failed. She knew who held her captive… it was Cyrus. Paige thought she killed him, her disk derezzed him completely. How was he still alive?

She tried to think of a rational explanation for his survival, but her mind was too fuzzy. It didn't seem possible that he was still alive. Paige tried again to open her eyes… she still couldn't. She had no idea of what happened exactly in the alleyway.

All she remembered was telling Zed and Mara to leave. Then she was all alone with Cyrus. Paige felt panic rise up inside. She hoped that Zed and Mara got away safely, and that she didn't let Beck down. She would never forgive herself if anything happened to Beck's friends.

Paige wasn't technically conscious, but she wasn't unaware of her surroundings. She was sort of stuck between sleep and consciousness.

Paige shifted a little; her disk was missing and was aware that she was tied up. Nothing out of the usual right there. (Sarcasm) She just hoped that there was no tampering with her disk that was somehow involved.

Paige heard Cyrus talking, but he wasn't addressing her. She could barely comprehend his words, but she was pretty sure that he was talking to someone she knew.

Determination allowed her to slowly, gradually open her eyes. They were just slits and her sight was a bit blurred, but at least she wasn't as oblivious and vulnerable. She refused to play as the helpless damsel in distress in whatever plan Cyrus had for her.

She shifted her eyes to look around the room. It looked like an ordinary apartment building, except for the very dark lights that illuminated the small room she was in.

Paige wasn't bound to a chair like the Renegade and his friend was. Instead, her hands were cuffed behind her back. Though her feet were bound as well, they weren't linked to her handcuffs.

She tried to open her eyes a little wider, but it was obvious that this was the closest to wide as they can get at the moment. She lifted her head slightly to get a better glimpse of her surroundings. She saw Cyrus working on something, taking no notice in her recovery of consciousness. She had no idea of what he was doing.

Paige felt so dizzy, that she had to rest her head against the floor. She closed her eyes unintentionally and slipped back into unconsciousness. Whatever Cyrus was up to, it definitely isn't good. Paige wasn't awake long enough to find out.

…

Beck looked around inside the alley, hoping to find a clue of Paige's whereabouts. Cyrus wouldn't just kidnap Paige without leaving some sort of note or hint as to his location. It definitely wouldn't be his old prison because that got completely destroyed.

Beck had been wandering for a while with nothing. He hoped that Paige was okay; she most likely wasn't. After all, this is Cyrus who is holding her captive. Cyrus isn't the kind of program who's gentle or nice to others, which was proven.

After more searching, he found the dead end and saw something glowing. He stepped forward, taking a closer look. Of course, it was a small note. It said:

_You might have forgotten something at your old apartment._

The message was anonymous, but Beck knew that it was from Cyrus. He pulled out his lightbike and raced through the streets, heading towards his old apartment.

A creepy thought occurred to Beck. _How did he know where I lived?_ Beck didn't even want to find out. Cyrus seemed like a stalker sometimes, waiting for the right moment to pounce on his victim.

Beck was almost there. Just turn the corner and- oh no! Beck stopped his bike and stared in shock. The building that Beck used to stay in was up in flames. _What a sick joke!_

A hologram appeared on the wall to reveal a grinning Cyrus. Beck was tired of his stupid games. "Yeah go ahead. Laugh it up Cy! That's really funny!" Cyrus's smile got wider. Beck has just about had it with him. "Where are you really?"

Cyrus chuckled. "I'm right behind you." Beck turned around with his disk on his hand. Cyrus laughed again, his voice full of insanity. "I'm not really behind you. It's the building that's behind you, idiot!"

If Cyrus made this a pre-recorded message, Beck would have to admit that he's sadly predictable. And he couldn't even imagine how horrible that would make things end for him.

The hologram died out, leaving Beck to decide on what to do next. He looked at the building that was behind him, the one Cyrus talked about. Paige **had** to be in there, but there was only one way to find out. Beck kept his disk out and cautiously approached the building.

…

Paige regained consciousness again, thankfully faster than last time. She managed to sit up, considering that she was still bound. Paige carefully scanned the room, looking for Cyrus. He wasn't that hard to spot.

Cyrus stood in front of a screen. It appeared to be a surveillance camera, and the Renegade was on the screen. "What's going on?" Page asked. Cyrus turned to look at her, his expression empty.

"You mean, you really don't know what's happening?" Cyrus asked, raising his eyebrows.

Paige tilted her head to the side. "Am I supposed to?" Cyrus suddenly bursted out laughing.

"I don't believe this. You're saying that the Renegade didn't tell you anything about this." Paige slowly shook her head. Cyrus laughed even harder. "I swear, the Renegade is a complete stupid head. He's such a softie. You're no different from him."

Paige looked at him quizzically. Cyrus walked over and stood behind her. "I'll bet he's here right now. Let's go meet him." Suddenly, the room went dark. Paige was being blindfolded. "What's this for?" She demanded.

Cyrus chuckled. "I don't want you to see the brutal violence that will occur. It's gonna get messy." Paige felt something inside of her start to sink in worry. She heard something get blown off its hinges. A door?.. maybe.

Someone was here. It could be the Renegade. "You want me? I'm right here. However, if you were after Paige, you shouldn't have given me clues to your location."

Paige heard Cyrus chuckle as he drew his disk. "I wanted both of you." All Paige could hear was a fight going on. She had no idea who was winning until it sounded like someone slammed against a wall and was pinned against it.

Cyrus said something that sent chills down her back. "You were always so predictable and easy to fight." Paige heard the Renegade twist out of Cyrus's grip and kicks him across the room.

The next thing Paige heard was footsteps, then a gentle hand on her side. "You okay?" It was the Renegade.

Paige smirked. "Took you long enough." He sighed as he started to decode her bonds. Paige felt vibrations on the floor; Cyrus got up and charged at the Renegade with his disk in his hand. "Um, I think there's something going on behind you."

The Renegade took his hands off of Paige before he could remove the handcuffs and drew his disk for a round 2 against Cyrus. Though he managed to get rid of the bonds on her feet, he didn't get the handcuffs or the blindfold off.

Some more scuffling went on while Paige tried to get back onto her feet. Just when she managed to stand up, there was absolute silence. _That can't be good._ Paige was seized from behind and a disk pressed against her throat.

"Let's go." It was Cyrus. Paige feared the worst for whatever happened to the Renegade. The best she could hope for was the possibility that he was just knocked out. Cyrus pushed her into a hallway and up a staircase.

He opened a door and shoved her through, taking a backward glance before shutting the door and continuing on another set of stairs. When they reached where Paige assumed was the roof, Cyrus reactivated his disk and held it against Paige's neck again, waiting.

_What's he waiting for?_ Paige wondered. Her question was answered when she heard the door to the roof burst open. Paige was still blindfolded and couldn't see who her rescuer was. It didn't matter right now, they were at a stalemate.

The mysterious program made the first move and took a few steps forward. Cyrus tightened his grip on Paige, making her gasp so he'd stop getting any closer. Then she heard him start to talk. "Look, can't we just talk about this?" Paige sighed with relief. The Renegade was alive after all.

Cyrus tightened his grip even more. "There's nothing to talk about. You're not going to get away without enduring some form of pain, which will be ensured." Cyrus held his disk closer to Paige, who was now struggling to get out of his grasp.

While Cyrus was distracted with handling Paige, the Renegade ran forward and tackled Cyrus, knocking Paige to the ground in the process. The Renegade managed to punch Cyrus hard enough to knock him out, but he knew he'd wake up very soon.

The Renegade stood up and ran back over to Paige. "Sorry Paige." The Renegade apologized as he removed her handcuffs and blindfold. She blinked a few times and looked at the Renegade as he helped her back onto her feet. Cyrus was already waking up.

Paige's eyes widened slightly as she pointed in Cyrus's direction. The Renegade looked at Paige. "Do you trust me?"

Paige shot him a look. "If you mean that I trust you more than him, then yes." The Renegade grabbed Paige's wrist and ran towards the edge of the roof, pulling Paige along with him. "What are you doing?! We'll fall!" He took no notice of her reaction and jumped.

The Renegade rezzed his lightbike and pulled Paige onto it before they hit the ground. Paige held onto the Renegade tightly, hoping he really did know what he was doing. She looked backwards and groaned. "What is it?" The Renegade asked.

"It's Cyrus." Paige responded with an empty tone in her voice.

…

Alpha opened her eyes and frowned. Something didn't feel right. She had this crazy dream that she had to be relocated to Gallium instead of Argon, and then they were ambushed by Clu's armies, forcing her to go into hiding in Argon City along with Sky.

Oh wait, it wasn't a dream. Alpha groaned and pressed her masked head back into her pillow- wait a second! She sat up quickly and looked at the pillow. _Since when did I ever have a pillow?_ Alpha never slept with a pillow, she never needed one.

She never used blankets or pillows, it was just the same as sleeping on the floor altogether. She was offered those things when she joined the Resistance Movement; she only took them and kept them in her closet. She figured that if she couldn't sleep without a pillow or blanket, then she wasn't tough enough to keep fighting.

It was sort of lame and childish when she thought about it, but if she was in any kind of bad situation, she can't always expect a pillow and/or blanket with the snap of her fingers. She looked around the room she was sleeping in. She was definitely not in the facility anymore.

Her mask was still on, not that it mattered anyways. It was locked, no one can take it off, its code constantly mutates and it only comes off when she wants it to. If anyone tried to hack it, the code would mutate 10 times faster than it was before. It was genius, but Alpha knew so many tricks and stuff when it involved coding.

She sighed heavily as she stood up quickly, only to plop back down on the bed. She was weak, and her energy levels were dangerously low. Alpha looked down at her circuitry; it was faded and was flickering a little. That wasn't good.

She looked at a small table that sat right next to her bed. It held up a full glass of energy. _Aww… Sky, you shouldn't have._ Alpha thought to herself as she took off her mask and lifted the glass to her lips. When she finished draining the glass, she set it down gently and stood up to look in a mirror.

Alpha knew that her appearance didn't matter anymore for two specific reasons. One: They were no longer natural. She had changed her programmed features and images to something else. Two: She had a mask that covered her head all the time to hide her face from all of those prying eyes.

The mask somehow gave her a bit of privacy though. She was free to use any facial expression that she wanted without anyone seeing. With her mask off right now though, she was tempted to see what she looked like now. It would probably be the same as the last time she looked in the mirror.

The only time she looks in the mirror, is when she takes off her mask. And the only time she takes off her mask, is when she's having a shot of energy. She shifted her eyes to the reflective glass on the wall. Nothing about her personally altered appearance was that different.

Her dark sandy hair was wavy, curly, and thick. It flowed far below her shoulders to her mid-back. Her eyes were neon green, and they still had that sparkle to them like they always used to. Her lips were full, but pale. Her entire face looked drained and hollow, like there was nothing inside of her but emptiness.

Alpha sighed deeply. Who was she kidding? There **wasn't** anything inside her, nothing but the will to sacrifice herself to save others… just like her boyfriend sacrificed so much to make sure that she survived in the end, even if it costed his own life.

Alpha pushed the thoughts away with such a willing force that she never realized she had inside of her. She didn't need to think bitterly about the past now, that was the last thing she needed right now. Alpha's already got enough things to worry about.

Alpha knew that before she joined the Resistance Movement, she literally had to start fresh, that included a completely new facial appearance and circuitry design.

Chad was already starting to figure her out, which was something else that she didn't want to deal with. He was already starting to realize that she was suffering from some serious mental trauma from that past.

Alpha shrugged that concern off her shoulders. Chad wasn't here right now… but Sky probably was. She was going to be careful and make sure no one figured out who she really was, or why she was really fighting.

She closed her eyes briefly as her mask slid back onto her face and tucked her hair up carefully; making sure nothing on her head was showing. After that, she opened her eyes and stood up, making her way to the door to see Sky and let him know that she was just fine… as usual.

* * *

**Alright, so Alpha's got much to hide and much to worry about. Beck and Paige have their own problems as well. Things are slowly starting to make a little more sense for you and some of you are already connecting the dots! XD It's all coming together to make things better for them... and for the Revolution! TRON LIVES! Toodles! :)**


	40. Chapter 39

**Okay, so I'm going to conclude the Cyrus terrorizing Paige incident. Here you go! Oh! And I apologize to Jillian for messing up your gender assumption. Sorry! (Embarrassed)**

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**Chapter 39**

The Renegade rode on his lightcycle through the streets of Argon with Paige sitting behind him, holding on for dear life. Who could blame her? They were being pursued by Cyrus, who was gaining on them quickly.

Beck groaned and took a sharp turn off the roads, heading for the outlands. "What are you doing?!" Paige asked. The Renegade turned and looked behind them to see if Cyrus was still following.

Of course, he was. "Alright, you and I both know that Cyrus is insane, but let's find out just how insane he really is."

Paige lifted an eyebrow. "What's that supposed to mean?" The Renegade sped up his bike and leaned forward, trying to build up as much speed as possible. He swerved to avoid rocks and other things as they went deeper and deeper into the outlands.

Beck had a plan. He wondered if he remembered Tron's first lightcycle training lesson… with a light wall! Beck turned on his light wall and steered his bike towards the canyon, heading for the ramp. He had an idea. It is meant to be risk free as well… hopefully.

Paige gasped as she saw the oversized gorge come closer and closer. Beck built up more speed in order to make the jump. Paige realized what he was doing and started shouting that he was just as crazy as Cyrus. That insult really stung, but Beck couldn't focus on that at the moment.

Beck swerved a few times on the bike to block any chance of Cyrus being able to use the ramp. Keeping his light wall on, Beck drove onto the ramp, feeling the rush of air and seeing them suspended above the bottom of the canyon. The view was breathtaking.

Paige screamed and held on tighter as they crossed over the gorge. When they landed on the other side, Beck lifted the bike's visor and looked at Cyrus, who had stopped his bike. Cyrus didn't look very happy either, he held Beck's gaze for a while. He then looked at Paige and smiled coldly, telling her that he'd be back.

Cyrus turned and drove off deeper into the outlands until he disappeared. He definitely wasn't heading for Tron's hideout, and he wasn't heading for the City either. Apparently, he was just driving towards an empty horizon.

The Renegade turned and looked at Paige, who seemed to be in shock. "Are you okay?" He asked. Paige recovered and scowled at him.

"What kind of a question is that?! 'Am I okay?' Well guess what?! I'm **not** okay! You risked both of our lives by jumping an oversized gorge just to get away from Cyrus! What kind of a plan is that?!"

The Renegade was about to say something, but Paige stopped him by holding up a hand. "No! Don't say anything. I'm outta here!" Paige got off the bike and started walking towards Argon City.

_She's got a lot of walking to do._ Beck thought to himself with a smirk. He knew that Cyrus wouldn't come back for Paige right away, he'd wait for the right moment, when she least expected it. _It seems Cyrus and Clu's strategies aren't quite so different._

He shrugged and drove away, knowing that doing that would only make Paige angrier, but he didn't want to risk dealing with her irritation by staying and trying to help. Beck kept riding until he was almost at Able's Garage.

He stopped and took off the white suit. He didn't want anyone to see the Renegade walking into Able's garage, that wouldn't be good for anyone who worked there.

When he arrived, Able was the first program to greet him. "Where have you been?! And what have you been up to?" Beck looked down at the ground.

"Saving lives… as usual. Um, I'll just get to work now." Able raised an eyebrow, Beck knew what his next question would be before it came out of his mouth. "And no, I didn't cause any trouble for the occupation."

Able nodded and Beck walked to the elevator, patiently waiting for it to reach the top floor. When it did, Beck stepped off and walked over to his locker, where he put the half-disk away and took out his recoder.

He walked back to the elevator and got ready for another cycle, working at the garage. It's really not that bad, Beck truly does enjoy having a job and living a semi-normal life with his friends, who were working on a tank together.

Beck might just be imagining things, but he thinks that Zed and Mara have really warmed up to each other. Beck liked Mara, but not the way that she liked the Renegade. He believed that Zed would be better for her than he ever would.

He smiled to himself. Thinking about how Paige was doing. He highly doubted that she'd be going out and doing something after her incident with Cyrus. She was really shaken when it was all over, and it was all she could do not to punch his mask in.

Beck got back to work on a lightcycle and enjoyed his time to the fullest. He had some plans to spend some more time with Zed and Mara after his shift ended. As long as there was nothing going on, of course.

…

Alpha looked around the small apartment, her mask back on her face. It was a cozy little place to live. She wondered where she was. When she walked down a little staircase and into the living room, she stopped in her tracks.

Sky was sitting in a chair, mask off and his suit was… different. Much, much different. It was no longer black guard attire. His suit looked exactly the same as an ordinary citizen! The outfit itself didn't have the spikes at the elbows or knees.

His circuitry design was primarily a white-blue, and the secondary color was a dark green. He turned and looked at Alpha and grinned shyly. He looked closer. "I see that you finally had some beauty rest… and energy. You look much better now."

Alpha smiled under her mask. "Yeah, thanks for that. I haven't had some in a while." She tilted her head to one side. "So that's what you're wearing while we're in hiding?" He shrugged.

"Well… yeah. We aren't really working at the moment, so we don't have to be in uniform. Might I suggest you change your attire as well." Alpha looked down at her outfit and mentally agreed with him.

It still consisted of the medical circuitry design, except for the neon green lights instead of jade color. Her high heels also made her stand out from other medics. Her mask might attract a little suspicion as well. But the one thing that will make programs gasp, was the neon green 'A' emblem on her chest.

She giggled nervously. "Yeah, that's probably a good idea." She took off her disk and sat down in Sky's lap, since there was no other furniture except for the lone chair that he was sitting in.

As she worked on her new outfit, she glanced briefly at the saved slot. Apparently, Sky looked at the slot as well. "You've got some nice outfits saved." He commented. Alpha flinched.

"Um… thanks." Sky looked at the front of her mask carefully, a hint of concern showing.

"You okay?" He asked.

Alpha nodded. "Yes, of course. Why wouldn't I be?"

Sky shook his head. "Never mind. Forget that I said anything." He glanced back at her outfits. Alpha could tell that he had a question floating in his head. He eventually got it out and asked. "So, do you design outfits during your free time?"

Alpha looked at him and shook her head. All of these outfits were what she wore every time that she tried to start fresh. She's had a very complicated past. "Um, no. I didn't design these during my free time. They're, um… disguises."

Sky eyed one saved outfit thoughtfully, Alpha saw it too. This specific one was her favorite, but she hadn't worn it ever since **'the incident'**. Sky looked at Alpha and smiled slightly. "This one looks the best in my opinion." He said, pointing to the one that he was looking at.

Alpha felt a pang of sadness and loss. She loved this one too. "It's my favorite one." Alpha admitted to him. He deserved to know that much. Sky locked eyes with her, even though he couldn't see her eyes, she could feel his direct gaze.

"You wanna try it on?" He asked, smiling warmly. Alpha felt like she had no choice now. Either she could play along, or risk being put in the mental hospital when they regroup with the rest of their fellow resistors.

Alpha made her decision. She pressed the option and felt her outfit change into her favorite design, the one that Sky liked. It was an ordinary citizen pattern with bright white-blue colors as the primary color. The secondary color was a bright neon green… like the city.

She still had her heels on, Alpha had always worn high heels. In fact, she was programmed to have them. It was just natural for her. Her gloves changed slightly though; she still had the gloves on, but the finger tips were gone, leaving the tips of her fingers bare. It looked pretty cool and badass.

Sky's eyes widened in amazement. He obviously liked how good the outfit looked on her.

Alpha looked at Sky again. She never had the chance to look at the details of his physical features. His eyes were a beautiful hazel color. His hair was light brown and went down just below his eyebrows. It had a slight wave to it and was styled and swooped to the side. It looked really good on him.

Alpha got off his lap and stood up, still feeling a little wobbly. She probably needed another shot of energy to get back to normal. Maybe later though.

Alpha glanced around the apartment again. "Where are we?" She asked, though part of her already knew it.

Sky raised an eyebrow. "We're in Argon City. Don't you remember? We were supposed to go into hiding and wait until the Resistance Movement gets here, then we can regroup." Alpha nodded. She already knew the master plan, but there were no details of what to do once they got to Argon.

Alpha turned and started to walk out the door, Sky caught up with her. "Where are you going?" He asked, sounding a bit worried. She faced him and placed a hand gently on his shoulder.

"Sky, relax. I promise not to get into any trouble, or draw attention to myself. As you can see, I'm disguised." Sky raised an eyebrow, she didn't answer her question. She sighed. "I'm just going to see an **old friend** of mine. It's no big deal, but I have to go alone."

Sky opened the door and walked out beside her. Alpha looked at him again. "I **have** to go alone, Sky."

He looked at her and spoke. "Well I'm going to do my own thing in the City. I'll walk you to your destination and leave you there, but be careful. Chad will blame me for whatever goes wrong."

Alpha laughed. "Yeah, he'll squish you like a grid bug." Sky laughed too and walked beside her. They really enjoyed each other's company. And they both wondered what each other's destination was.

Sky looked at Alpha nervously. "Um… I'm going to be all over Argon, looking around. If you want to know where I am… here." He handed a device that showed her his location, he was carrying a tracker on him. "I'm aware that your priorities are private, I won't bother you about it."

Alpha looked at him and gave him a curt nod. This was as far as they were going together. They split up. Alpha switched and walked down a different road, Sky kept walking. He was a bit worried about Alpha being on her own, but she promised not to get into trouble.

Sky's first place to stop was the club near Argon Square, he was going to look around for some fellow resistors to gather some intel of what's going on in Argon right now. He knew of some programs who worked undercover for them, but it might take a while to find them.

He couldn't stop thinking about Alpha, she said something about meeting an 'old friend' in Argon. He didn't even know that she knew some programs that lived here. She was just full of surprises, and he was sure there'd be more.

Alpha turned abruptly and walked into an alleyway. She was aware that she hadn't been expected but she couldn't care less. It's been far too long since she's last been with someone who she used to know. She kept walking through the maze of alleys until she had reached her destination. It was empty… but not for long.

* * *

**Who do you think Alpha's going to meet? Will he/she/it be friendly, or will it want to fight? What do you think will happen to Sky while he's out and looking around? You might be surprised of what happens next! XD**


	41. Chapter 40

**Hooray! I managed to upload two chapters in one day! I'm in such a good mood. ^^ Enjoy the chapter folks! :D**

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**Chapter 40**

Beck's shift ended right after Zed and Mara's. Beck walked up to them to spend some more time with them. They looked very worried. It must be about Paige. He thought for a moment of how to put them at ease. "Uh, hey guys!" They turned and looked at him. "Paige just walked by and wanted me to tell you that she was okay… whatever that means."

Their eyes widened. "She's okay? Thank goodness, the Renegade must have rescued her!" Beck made himself look confused since he was aware that they didn't get 'Beck' involved in the incident.

Zed and Mara looked at Beck again, realizing that they didn't tell him anything. "Oh, yeah. Cyrus… kidnapped Paige, so we went to the Renegade for help. He was the only program we knew nearby who could rescue her."

This time Beck was really confused. _The only program nearby?_ This was really getting strange. Zed and Mara definitely knew more than they would let on. Beck tried to change the subject. "So um, guys. Are you free right now? I was just thinking that we should head to the club."

His friends' expressions brightened. "Aw, Beck, we'd love to go." Mara pulled Zed out of the garage, following Beck. The trio all rezzed their bikes and headed for the club.

…

Paige finally got to the base. It was a long walk because the Renegade ditched her in the middle of nowhere! She was so mad at him. She looked around when she heard someone call her name. "Commander Paige."

She looked in the direction of where it came from. It was Dyson who was calling her over. She walked over obediently. "Yes sir?" He looked bored.

"Clu would like to see you right now." Paige felt slightly irritated inside. She's been through a lot this cycle, but it was probably better not to complain… or to mention anything about Cyrus. After all, Clu probably had more important things to worry about than a psycho who has a habit of terrorizing programs.

Paige marched through the hallways of Tesler's Base, following Dyson to Clu's throne ship that was parked in to docking bay. She was very nervous; she hoped that Clu wasn't mad that she had let the Renegade escape so many times.

Paige stopped at the doors to the Throne Ship, took a deep breath, and slowly walked inside. Paige slowly turned to face Dyson and Clu. Dyson was facing Paige with an empty expression, and Clu was facing out of the window, overlooking Argon.

Paige clasped her hands behind her back and addressed Clu. "Greetings sir, I heard that you wanted to see me. What can I do for you?"

Dyson looked briefly at Clu as he turned around calmly and looked at Paige up and down. Suddenly, the ship started to ascend off the ground and slowly climbed in the air. Obviously, they were going for a leisurely cruise around the City.

Paige shifted uncomfortably, and Clu chuckled. "Relax, Commander Paige; I just wanted to make you an offer." Paige tilted her head slightly. "An… offer?" She asked. Clu slowly nodded. Paige's curiosity had grown miraculously. She wondered what the offer was.

As if Clu had read her mind, he explained what he had in mind. "I'm aware that you've fought the Renegade quite often, the most of everyone here, actually. And even though he constantly gets away and escapes, it's not your fault. In fact, no one can blame you; he's a very slippery program. I'll even give you some credit; you were the closest to actually catching him than any other program who works here."

Paige wanted to know more. "So… what are you proposing, sir?"

Clu smiled, glad that she'd asked. "How would you like to be my personal advisor of a special operation and to work on the field to bring this masked vigil ante to justice?" This was the last thing that Paige thought he'd offer to her. Of course she'd help! She would've done anything to receive this opportunity.

Paige straightened her posture and put on her best smile. "I'd be honored to do such a privilege for you, sir." Clu smiled. Dyson grinned slightly. Apparently, they were very happy to have Paige working closely.

Paige didn't feel like there was anything to worry about. Her top priority was to help Clu and Dyson catch the Renegade. With the three of them working together, the Renegade would finally be caught and there would be no more trouble.

…

Sky walked into the club and sat down at a booth. He made sure to keep his mask on and looked side to side carefully as he pulled out a holographic list of programs that live in Argon City and work with the Resistance Movement.

He skimmed through the list and looked up every once in a while to see if there were any resistor in the club. After all, the club was a very popular place to be.

He looked up and saw three programs enter the club. He recognized Zed and Mara as revolutionists who helped the Renegade every other cycle. Their friend was completely unfamiliar.

Sky couldn't be sure if Zed and Mara's friend was a resistor, his expression was very hard to read. He looked very deep in thought, or he was masking his feelings deep down. He sat down with Zed and Mara at a booth across the club. The program turned and glanced in Sky's direction, then looked away.

Sky had to stop watching Zed and Mara. Whoever their friend was, didn't seem to be in the mood to get into any kind of trouble. He looked tired. _Probably had a rough cycle._ Sky thought to himself as he kept looking through the list.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Mara drag Zed onto the dance floor. Sky smiled to himself when they started dancing.

While they were dancing, Sky noticed that their friend was staring at him. He was starting to feel very uncomfortable around this program. Little did he know that the Renegade was only across the room from him.

…

Paige was on the throne ship with Clu and Dyson. They needed information about the Renegade, so they were going to see a program who was an expert with intel. They were going to pay 'The Librarian' a visit.

She was a program who claimed to be on no one's side, giving them a possible advantage over the Renegade. It would take a solid 10 nanocycles before they arrived to their destination.

Paige relaxed her shoulders and leaned against the wall, she had plenty of time to think about other things during the transport to The Librarian's Alley.

…

Alpha stopped walking in the middle of a very dark alley and leaned against the wall. Sometimes it takes a few nanocycles before she's approached, it didn't take long though. After half a nanocycle, a female program dressed completely in black, masked and gloved stopped right behind her. It was The Librarian.

The Librarian folded her arms and leaned to the side, speaking first. "Welcome to my alley, I'm-"

Alpha interrupted her. "Hello Evelyn." She said, catching The Librarian completely off guard.

"Do I know you?" She asked, shocked. Alpha simply nodded her head. The Librarian stood up straight. "Well, for your information, I'm known as 'The Librarian'. I'd really appreciate it if you'd call me that instead."

Alpha laughed. "I'm sorry, I completely forgot how long it's been." Alpha took off her disk, flipped it over, and put it back on, keeping on her mask. Her outfit turned back into the medic outfit that she usually wore, with the neon green emblem on her chest.

Alpha could hear the surprise in The Librarian's voice. "Y-Yes, it's been quite a while. I-I was worried that you were killed." They embraced each other in a brief hug.

Alpha smiled under her mask as she changed her light pattern back into her citizen disguise. It was time to get to the point of why she came here. "So Evelyn, is there any news or anything interesting that the Resistance should know about?"

The Librarian thought for a moment. "Well… no. I've got no news, but I do know some interesting things that you might want to know about."

Alpha nodded. "Okay. What's up, Evelyn?"

The Librarian tensed every time Alpha called her that. It was her true name and preferred that it wasn't said out loud. Alpha got the point. "Oh, sorry. Can't I call you Evelyn?" The Librarian bit her lip and eventually nodded.

"Well, Alpha, let me get something interesting out. It's about the Renegade." Alpha raised an eyebrow. Evelyn continued. "His white suit, it looks a lot like… Tron's old signature outfit." Alpha tilted her head to one side. That fact **was** pretty interesting. She wondered how much the Renegade knew about Tron.

"And" Evelyn said. "I need to get the bad news out. Brace yourself." Alpha took a deep breath, she didn't like where this was going. It had to be pretty bad news. "Cyrus has escaped." Alpha nearly blacked out right where she was.

"Wait a second! What do you mean Cyrus has escaped?! Are you saying that he broke out of the 'compressed space' somehow?" Evelyn nodded. Alpha rested her masked head in her hand, taking calming breaths. _This isn't good, this is bad, really, really, bad._

Alpha had to get back to Sky and warn him, well… inform him of this tragic news. She turned and started running out of the alleyway, turning around once to say goodbye. "Thank you so much for the information, Evelyn. What do you want in return?"

The Librarian waved her away. "Just consider it a favor for 'old time's sake'."

Alpha thanked her again as she ran out of the alley, not looking where she was going. She swung around the corner and ran right into Dyson, knocking them both over. Alpha stood up immediately and looked around her to see Clu standing there, looking amused with what has happened. Paige wasn't that far behind.

Alpha felt the urge to punch Clu's stupid grin off his face, then deck the commander. Alpha had to remind herself in her head that she was disguised and had to play it cool. She was glad that she still had her mask on.

Step one: Play your enemies' right. "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry. I wasn't looking where I was going, I take full responsibility for what has happened."

Alpha apologized as she helped Dyson back onto his feet. Step two: Get on their good side. Alpha wasn't sure that Clu had much of a good side, but it wouldn't hurt too much to try.

"Is there anything I can do to make it up to you?" It wasn't a very good question to ask, but it was the first thing she could come up with.

Dyson waved her away. "No, I'm fine. Just be more careful and don't do anything like that again. There would've been severe consequences if you did that to Clu." Alpha glanced at Clu momentarily, then looked back at Dyson.

"Don't worry, I'll be more careful next time. I'm just so clumsy." Alpha mumbled as she walked away. When she was away from Clu, she sighed in relief. She did it! She was already getting the hang of being an ordinary citizen. Sky would be so proud. _Wait, Sky!_

Alpha had completely forgotten about Sky, she had to tell him about Cyrus, pronto! She jumped and rezzed her lightbike. She didn't worry too much about Evelyn, she wasn't afraid or intimidated by Clu, and she'd be just fine. While riding, she pulled out the tracking device that Sky had given her. It showed that his location was at the club.

Of course he'd be at the club. It's the most popular place in the entire city. It's the best place to find allies of the Resistance. Alpha pushed her bike to go faster, hopefully, she could get there before he decided to leave the club and go somewhere else.

She was almost there, only about two more nanocycles before she gets there. She was anxious to get the word out. Cyrus was a very fast pace program. For all she knew, Cyrus could be at the club right now, causing trouble for other programs.

…

Beck kept his eyes focused on the program. There was something about him that didn't seem normal. If he knew that Beck was watching, he didn't seem to react. He noticed that he was looking at Zed and Mara strangely when they walked into the club.

Zed and Mara looked at Beck and frowned. When they turned and looked at the program across from the club, they whispered something to each other. Zed and Mara then started walking over to him.

Mara turned and gestured for Beck to follow. Beck sighed as he stood up and walked over to him as well. Mara sat next to him and Zed sat straight across. The program looked startled from what they were doing. _He probably isn't from around here._

Beck stood by the table and avoided looking at him, he just smirked as Mara leaned against Sky and asked for his name. He laughed nervously and said that he wasn't looking for a relationship. Mara raised an eyebrow and said that she wasn't either.

Beck laughed out loud to get his friends' attention. "Maybe we should leave the nice program alone." He said shooting Sky a look.

Mara smiled as she gently took Sky's arm and dragged him onto the dance floor. "I think he just needs to loosen up." Mara said playfully. The program started to panic a little as Mara led him away from the table. Zed stood up to help her out.

Beck didn't want to stick around anymore. Zed and Mara were occupied with the stranger in a mask. He decided to go to Tron's place to train or something, maybe talk about this stranger and get some advice of what to do. He stood up and walked out of the club.

…

Clu, Dyson, and Paige walked back out of the alleyway. The Librarian had shown herself, but her answers to their questions seemed like riddles. They didn't make much sense.

The only thing that Paige really understood was: "Watch your backs, the grid is full of surprises. You won't always understand the concept of good and evil until see the difference between them."

Paige had an idea that The Librarian was talking to her when she said that but she didn't want to distract herself by thinking about that. Clu didn't seem any happier than she was. The Librarian must've been a little too mysterious to his liking.

Paige didn't talk during the ride back to the base, she could tell that Clu and Dyson were in deep thought about the other things that The Librarian told them. She just shook her head in disappointment and closed her eyes for the rest of the way.

…

Alpha stopped her bike outside of the club and derezzed it back into a baton. She put her baton in her pocket while she ran inside, only to run into another program. _This is starting to get really annoying_.

"Hey watch it!" She yelled at him as she continued running. It was rude to say something like that, but she had bigger things to worry about.

All that she remembered was that the program was a guy with white and light blue circuitry and dark brown eyes. He looked kind of familiar, but she pushed that thought away. _Duty first._

She couldn't care less about strangers right now, she had to see Sky. When she walked inside of the club, she nearly dropped dead. A girl with blue hair was trying to dance with him, he kept trying to back off and he had his mask on. Another guy was encouraging him to let loose and have some fun.

Alpha smirked under her mask. It's not easy to get Sky to have that particular type of 'fun'. She was shocked when he actually gave in and started dancing. She started chuckling and it was all that she could do to not laugh out loud.

She watched eagerly, determined to catch this moment on her disk to tease him about it later and- oh no. Sky had spotted her and beckoned her to dance with him.

She shook her head and tried to tell him that she didn't dance. He didn't listen when he took her hand in a surprisingly gentle manner and slowly led her to the dance floor. The next thing she knew, she was holding his hands and leaning against him, her back to his front and dancing together.

Alpha had to admit that she was enjoying herself. Maybe talking could wait, besides, Sky didn't look like he wanted to end this moment anytime soon. He was enjoying himself as well. Sky leaned in and whispered to her. "Are you finally having 'fun'?"

Alpha smiled and whispered back. "Surprisingly, yes. I am enjoying this." He chuckled and held her closer to him. She closed her eyes and leaned against him more. Even she didn't want this enjoyable moment to end.

She had been so sad and lonely for so long and she didn't want to feel that anymore. Her reasons were selfish and painful to think about, which was why she never wanted to be in another relationship. It reminded her too much about her past and it was too painful to bear.

She snapped out of it and pulled herself away from Sky, who let go of her gently. "Al, what's wrong?" She was glad that he didn't call her 'Alpha'. The main reason was because they were in public.

She looked at Sky's masked face. "Don't worry, I'm fine. I just… forgot about something really important. You should probably sit down to listen to this." He nodded. It was time to get down to business.

* * *

**Okay, tell me what you think about this chapter. I'll be honest with you guys, in the Tron: Uprising TV show, I do ship Beck and Paige, I think they should be together. Sorry in advance if I offended any BeckXMara shippers. So expect more chapters soon. Please review and share your opinion. (Reviews are a great modivation for writers) Tron Lives! Toodles! :)**


	42. Chapter 41

**You guys will love this chapter! But I'm sorry that I couldn't upload this short one sooner. (I've been kept busy) As always... enjoy! :) By the way, I've noticed that lots of cities and some people on the grid have names from the elements of the periodic table! How cool is that? I'll be doing that for more cities and extra characters... and some other names that most of you will recognize! XD**

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**Chapter 41**

As Beck was riding through the outlands, he was thinking about the girl that he'd run into when he left the club. She yelled at him to watch where he was going as she went inside without glancing backward. _What a jerk._ He thought to himself.

Beck gasped and swerved away from a rock, barely hitting it. He couldn't think about the minor things right now. Beck wondered if it was wise to leave Zed and Mara with that program in the club.

The program didn't seem like a threat. But then again, Cyrus didn't seem threatening when he first met him… maybe a little creepy though. Beck trusted that Zed and Mara can handle themselves; they'll be fine.

When he arrived at the hideout, he turned his bike back into a baton and put it into his pocket as he stepped into the elevator. That masked girl that bumped into him looked so familiar, especially her circuitry.

Ally was the only other program who had white and neon green circuits with heels… other than that one program that knocked him out when he got to Bismuth. But the one that knocked him out had a different pattern, just neon colored circuits and they were in the same pattern as Tron's disguise.

The elevator doors opened up and Beck walked into the main room that overlooked the outlands. Tron stood in front of the window; he appeared to be in deep thought. It was never a good idea to bother him while he's thinking hard about something.

Beck quickly turned around to leave the hideout. He'd have to come back later. As Beck quietly made his way to the elevator, Tron suddenly spoke. "Where are you going?" Too late. Beck turned around and walked back over to Tron, feeling slightly embarrassed.

"Sorry, I was gonna leave and come back later when I saw you thinking. I thought you'd prefer to be left alone." Tron raised an eyebrow.

"I wasn't thinking about anything, Beck. I was just looking outside."

Beck really felt embarrassed. "Oh, okay then. I uh, came here to train."

Tron simply shrugged. "Alright then, go to the simulation room." Beck nodded and turned towards the simulation room.

…

Paige was lying on her bed, trying to rest and recover from all the events that happened today. The vandalism on the train ride back to Argon from Bismuth, Cyrus kidnapping her, and joining Clu for a special assignment on her part.

It's been quite an unusual cycle. It was definitely out of the ordinary, even for Paige, who's been through other random situations like these. She rolled over. If she wanted to finally rest in peace, she would have to clear her head of all sorts of troublesome thoughts.

As her mind began to go blank, her eyelids started to feel heavy. Before she knew it, Paige fell asleep. She was out cold too. It's been a rough cycle for her. Besides, if she was going to catch the Renegade and get rid of Cyrus for good, she'll have to be very alert. In the meantime, she'll rest.

…

Alpha sat across from Sky at a booth. They both still had their masks on, and they were talking to each other with their voices barely above a whisper. "I don't know how to break the news to you gently or slowly, so I'll get straight to the point." Alpha took a deep breath before continuing. "Cyrus… broke free."

Alpha couldn't see the look on his face, but she was sure that it was priceless. "Wait, slow down! What do you mean 'Cyrus broke free'? Is this some kind of joke?"

Alpha shook her head. "No, no. It's the real deal. Cyrus is no longer inside the compressed space and he's running loose… probably wreaking havoc all over the grid."

Sky rested his head in his hand with his elbow on the table. "This is bad; this is really, really bad. Now our mission has gotten even more complicated!"

Alpha leaned in closer to Sky. "So, how will we resolve this **Issue**?" Sky looked up at her. _Is she crazy? It seems that she's actually trying to get herself killed._ Sky didn't bother to speak his mind. He simply shook his head and told her that they're not going to get themselves into trouble.

Alpha tilted her head to the side; trying to let what he just said, sink in a little. Sky repeated himself. "We. Are. Not. Going. To. Get. Into. Trouble." For the first time, Sky was actually glad the he couldn't see her face, because he could see that she was totally pissed off.

"What do you mean? Are you saying that we're just going to stand on the sidelines and do nothing? I-I can't do that! I was **programmed** to help others!" If Alpha got any louder, programs would start staring. They had to get out before she made a scene.

Sky started to get up and out of his chair. "I think we should be going now." Alpha kept snapping at him and paid no attention to what he said. Sky pulled her onto her feet and carefully guided her out of the club. A small number of programs were starting to turn their hands towards them.

Alpha was starting to yell at him when they left the club. Sky started to pull her along the road by her arm. He wasn't trying to be the bad guy, but Alpha was giving him a really hard time.

Alpha abruptly pulled her arm out of his grasp. "I'm sick and tired of being treated like I'm helpless. Just leave me alone for a while, okay?" Sky didn't fight that; she needed to blow off some steam. As long as she was careful and safe, Sky would cut her some slack.

"Okay, but be careful." Alpha started to walk away, when Sky gripped her shoulder firmly. "Alpha, I'm serious." Alpha heard him, but she paid more attention to the contact she was in.

It's been a while since she'd been in contact with a boy, or touching one. It felt like electric shocks were coursing through her body… and it felt good. The experience seemed erotic. She snapped out of it and pulled her shoulder away. Waving her hand towards him. "Yeah, yeah, whatever. I'll be fine."

But she didn't realize how things would turn out later that evening.

* * *

**Wow, cliffy right there. I'll try to update as soon as possible. Please share your opinion. You can try to guess what will happen next. Some of you people have very colorful imaginations! :) TRON LIVES! XD Toodles!**


	43. Chapter 42

**Chapter 42**

Beck punched the last of the seven dozen soldiers that surrounded him. When the last guard fell to the floor, they all disappeared. Another dozen rezzed in to take their place. Before Beck realized it, he was on the floor and the simulated guard ran him through with his disk.

The simulation automatically shut down, giving Beck a short break. He sighed in frustration as he stormed out of the simulation room. How could he easily take down seven dozen soldiers all at once, and then get beaten easily under only two dozen guards. It made no sense, it was against logic. Tron hadn't even changed the difficulty levels.

As Beck entered the main room again, Tron stared at Beck in concern. "Beck… are you okay?"

Beck waved away Tron's concern. "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Stop worrying about me so much." Tron narrowed his eyes. "You seem distracted. You're never distracted. What's going on?"

Beck **was** distracted. He didn't want to tell anyone about it though. Beck was thinking about Ally again. The big problem was: Beck had never told **anyone** about Ally, not even about his past. Able never knew, Bodhi, Zed, Mara, and Tron didn't have a clue of what was really going on… or knew what Beck had gone through in the past. They just won't understand.

There was no point in sharing his past anyways. It had nothing to do with the Revolution… did it? He pushed the thought away, it was bad enough that more people were starting to be concerned about him, and he didn't need more from Tron.

Beck straightened up, speaking clearly and reassuringly. "There's nothing going on, Tron. If there was, I would've told you by now. What I'm thinking about really isn't something to worry about. I'm just… daydreaming, that's all."

Tron narrowed his eyes slightly and gave out a small "Hmm…" he nodded slowly as he turned to look outside again. "You know, it helps you to clear your head of distractions if you can get a good, beautiful view of the city. The window helps."

Beck walked over and stood in front of the window, next to Tron. He never had to focus on a view like this, it was just considered as a distraction. _"Beautiful, but distracting."_ Ally had told Beck that once. They had been on a light jet together, taking a moment to look at a neighboring City.

"_It may be pretty, but we don't live there. We shouldn't focus on other places, when we could be focusing on the present time, right here… __**and right now!**__"_ Beck almost crashed into another building if she hadn't got him to pay attention again.

They laughed when they got off the jet and sat on the big rooftop. _"The view of the City may be beautiful, but it can be very distracting. Of course, it's been proven, but I didn't expect it to be proven like that."_

Beck smiled. Ally had always had good advice. He still followed it when he knew it'd be useful. So far, her advice had never let him down. It always led him to nothing but better outcomes of a situation.

He kept staring out the window, focusing on nothing now, except for the view. For a moment, he'd forgotten about Ally, and his painful past, and he forgot about his priorities that he could be accomplishing right now.

He smiled as he let the view sooth his thoughts and he relaxed his tense shoulders. He breathed in… and out. Taking deep breaths each time. Beck cleared his head more, and more with the constant breaths. _There's nothing to worry about. Just focus on breathing…_

Finally, Beck had reached it. He had found what he was looking for. Beck had found peace and calmness, not outside, but inside, within himself.

…

Paige had finally woken up. She had no idea how long she'd been asleep, but it must've been a while because she felt very refreshed and ready to kick some Renegade butt. First, she had to find out what she'll be doing for her assignment, which she'll receive directly from Clu or Dyson. She wasn't sure which program would tell her.

She got up and headed for the door to find out what her assignment would be this cycle. As she neared the room that Clu and Dyson were in, she couldn't help but notice that they were whispering to each other as if they don't want **anyone** to hear what they were talking about.

She would have to come back later to see what her assignment was. Paige felt a sudden curiosity of what Clu and Dyson were talking about. But if they wanted Paige to know, they either would've called her into the room with them, or they would tell her later.

She shrugged and started to walk away, obviously letting her sense of duty win over her curiosity. As Paige walked away, she could've sworn that they mentioned her name. She turned around and quietly tiptoed back to the closed door, listening intently. She desperately wanted to know Clu and Dyson's true opinion of her.

They weren't sharing what they were thinking though; they were talking about the facts about her. Some of the things they were talking about were a bit confusing. "Paige is a very interesting program. I've never known any other commander like her." Dyson said.

Clu sounded bored when he answered 'matter of factly'. "Maybe that's because she **isn't** like the other commanders that you've met in the past."

Dyson started pacing the room. "I know that! It's just… that she's loyal for different reasons. Have you read her file? Her records?"

Clu hesitated. "N-no, I suppose not. I figured that she'd be very useful to help us catch 'you know who'." Dyson handed the data pad to Clu.

"I highly recommend that you read it. I think you'll be surprised." Paige raised an eyebrow. _Did I do something wrong? I hope that Clu doesn't reconsider. I really want to hunt down the Renegade and bring him to justice._

The next thing that she heard Clu say was even more confusing. "Jee, I actually feel sorry for the commander. Tesler really did that just to win her over? I'll never truly understand Tesler's motivation for such a thing. He could've handled this in a better way."

Dyson waited a few more moments before answering again. "You understand as well as I do that having Paige around here with her own files right under her nose is extremely dangerous. If she ever saw this, she would most likely defect and betray us all."

Paige narrowed her eyes. _Why in the name of users would they ever think that Paige would betray them?_ It had better be one heck of a story if they believed that she would leave the army. Now Paige was very curious to see what the contents of her files were. Tesler had always made sure to keep them away from Paige.

He had told her that it was unnecessary to see them. Paige never questioned him, she just obeyed. But now she believes that there was an even bigger reason as to why he wouldn't show them to her. He must've been hiding something very important, something that would cause Paige to leave him without a backward glance.

Now, she doubted that they would talk to her about this. If she wanted to know what was going on, she'd have to find out for herself. Paige had to leave now if she didn't want to get caught or seen by anyone. She'll look at her file later, as long as it's available to her.

She turned and quietly went back to her room, waiting to be called outside or for the right moment to look. After several nanocycles, Clu and Dyson walked out of the room in silence. When Paige was sure that they were gone, Paige opened her door and walked out.

She almost cried out in surprise when she saw Clu and Dyson standing right by her door. Dyson looked at Paige in surprise. Trying to cover her surprise, Paige put on a straight face and made something that wasn't an entire lie. "Greetings, I was just um, going to ask what my current assignment would be."

Dyson glanced at Clu, who raised an eyebrow at Dyson. Dyson turned back to Paige. "No, Commander. There are no current assignments at the moment. You have some time off. Have a pleasant cycle."

Clu and Dyson turned and continued walking down the hallway, talking about their current failures to reconquer Bismuth. When their talking slowly faded into nothing, Paige turned her head and looked towards the room that Clu and Dyson were in before.

She could feel curiosity and temptation building up inside of her. Paige really wanted to know why Dyson and Clu were so worried, and what General Tesler had been keeping from her this whole time. Whatever it was, Paige knew that it wouldn't be good, but she just wanted to know.

Paige glanced behind her to make sure that no one was around to see. Of course, there was no one around. She was the only soldier standing in this hallway, but who knows how long it will remain empty.

Paige was running out of time, and there was no guarantee that she would have this opportunity ever again. She took a deep breath and tiptoed into the room. There wasn't much inside the room, just a small data pad on a table. There was nothing else inside.

Paige walked over to the table and picked up the pad to view its contents. She wasn't sure if this was the pad that held her records and files, but she was going to find out. Paige was relieved when she found out that the pad had the answers that she was looking for.

She had the pad that held her files. As she looked through the contents, she noticed how positive all of the higher ranked soldiers thought of her. Her eyes narrowed slightly when she found what was kept from her.

It was the section that mentioned how Tesler found her in the first place. Ironically, the pad didn't tell the same story of what happened at the medical center. Tesler's explanation was completely different from this one.

The data pad said that her old friends were the ones that turned the ISOS Quorra and Aida, over to Tesler. They were the ones who reported the incident. Paige's eyes widened when she kept reading.

The ISOS left quietly and unseen, without touching anyone or anything. When Tesler arrived, Paige's friends told him everything they knew, and then Tesler ordered to have every program in the medical center to be derezzed immediately.

Paige read the last part over and over and over again. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. No wonder Tesler lied to her. He wasn't kidding when he said he saw potential in Paige and figured that if she had a flame burning inside of her that could be used as a weapon to his advantage, so he lied and told her that the ISOS were the ones that killed everyone and that he rescued her.

Paige scowled and put down the data pad. Dyson was right. If Paige saw this and knew the truth, she would no longer want anything to do with the occupation… and she didn't. Paige turned and walked out of the room without a backward glance.

Dyson told Paige that she could take some time off. Well, she was definitely taking time off… and it would last for a while.

Paige officially quit! And she would not become another tool to be used to help another side. From now on, she'd be on her own. She's now free, on her own, and she's proud of it. Paige is now a loner, and she'll make the most of it.

…

Alpha walked down the road of Purgos with a quick pace. She wasn't afraid; she just didn't like the negative feeling that this area of the city had. She was in Purgos for a good reason… in her opinion.

Since she wasn't busy or working in the Resistance Movement right now, she figured that she could continue her search for her old boyfriend… if he's even alive, but it was worth a try. If he was anywhere on the grid, it would probably be Purgos, unless he's city hopping now.

_He has to be here. This is the best lead I have. If he'd leave Neon, this would be the first City he'd move to._ Alpha carefully looked around her. She'd walked into an alleyway and she knew what it meant. Lots of potential trouble.

She noticed immediately while she walked, that programs were starting to appear and step out from the shadows, moving to surround her. _That's not good._ The programs that surrounded her were all masked.

One of the programs that stepped out of the shadows walked in between the other programs that encircled Alpha. By the looks of it, the program-that was walking up to her-appeared to be the leader of the gang.

He looked her up and down, probably smirking deviously under his mask. Alpha remained still and silent. There were always helpful steps to deal with this. (Step one: Remain silent) Perhaps he was just trying to scare her, but Alpha wasn't going to give him that satisfaction.

The leader folded his arms across his chest. "You don't look like you're from around here." Alpha could hear the amusement in his voice. (Step two: Speak if spoken to. What you say and how you say it varies by the program's attitude and personality)

Alpha didn't know this program at all, so she straightened her shoulders and spoke clearly with a hint of annoyance and impatience. "Yes, you're right. I'm not from around here. I must've taken a wrong turn; I'm looking for someone."

Alpha turned to make her way through the crowd of programs; two of them suddenly grabbed her arms and turned her around to face the leader again. (Step three: If annoyance and impatience isn't his thing, do something different)

Alpha cleared her throat and spoke with confidence and tried to be polite. "I don't know who you are, or why you think that you have the authority to harass me, but I'm requesting that you release me immediately and let me leave. I promise to never enter this alley as long as I shall live."

The program laughed with amusement. "You are too funny; I've never met a program with a personality like yours." (Step four: If being polite didn't work. Pretend to be patient and reassuring)

"Look, I'm trying to be reasonable here. If you're feeling pained, I understand. If you feel hatred, I've experienced that too. If you want to make yourself feel better by hurting others, that's not going to improve things for you, or for your victim."

The program walked right up to Alpha. She couldn't run because the two programs were still holding her arms. She could hear the program's smirk in his voice as he traced a circuit on one of her arms. "That's cute. Have you ever had the chance to feel **'aroused'**?"

Anger was starting to rise within her. She's never wanted to be in relationships ever since she lost her boyfriend. This program might as well be part of the Crims because he's no better than them. She was beginning to lose her real patience. These steps were designed by Alpha herself, so that meant that they were designed specifically for herself.

(Step five: Now's the time to give this programs what they deserve. Be sure that they're given a fair beating. Don't overdo it, and don't hold back.) Alpha clenched her fists and kicked one of the programs that was holding her arm. He immediately let go when her leg came in contact with his side.

Alpha then punched the second program with her free hand, sending him stumbling backwards as well. All at once, the rest of the programs that surrounded Alpha ran over to subdue her. Alpha saw this coming. She knew that the odds of defeating this gang and getting away weren't exactly in her favor.

Four programs managed to grab her arms and hold her in place, making sure that she couldn't strike out again. Alpha had never failed 'Step five' before. But it was a good thing she had things planned out.

(Step six: Hold your temper. This is the time when you should pretend to be helpless and beg for mercy) Alpha's never had to reach 'Step six' in this kind of situation before. She's always been very organized, so she literally has every conflict and/or problem planned out through a series of methods and steps.

"Please, if you'll listen. I'm just trying to find my lost love. We've been separated for hundreds of cycles and I'm not even sure if he's alive or dead anymore. Looking in Purgos was my best of finding him. Don't you know what it feels like to be in love, and your love feels the same way about you?"

The leader tilted his head to the side. He sounded touched when he spoke next. "Thwarted love? That's very tragic. I've actually experienced that myself. But I know for a fact that my old girlfriend is dead. I'm happy that you're still looking for your lost love, and that there's a possible chance of him still being alive."

He nodded to the programs that were holding her arms. They let go immediately. Alpha wasn't entirely sure how she did it, but she might have softened another gangster. He saluted to her slightly. "Good luck, find your boyfriend. Put an end to this sad story."

He slowly backed into the shadows again; the other programs followed his lead. When they disappeared, Alpha turned and left the alley without question.

Just when she left the alley, she witnessed a crash with two malfunctioning vehicles. This night was busier than Alpha hoped it would be. She drew her disk and ran over to the scene to cut the doors open. She was completely unaware that when she drew her disk, she accidentally changed her disguise back into her medic uniform.

She helped every program out of the vehicles and put her disk back. She only realized what she had done when they smiled at her and said: _"Thank you, Alpha!"_ Alpha gasped and looked down at her chest. It had her signature emblem imprinted on it, a letter 'A'.

A large group of soldiers already started to surround her. **"Surrender, program!"** One of the guards said in a cold, hard voice. Alpha quickly took off a smoke bomb and concealed it in her hand before the guards noticed. **"Any last words?"** One of the guards asked, sounding amused.

Alpha smirked under her mask. "How about a magic trick instead?" The guards glanced at each other in confusion. Alpha continued. "I'm gonna make myself… **disappear**!"

The guards came rushing at her. Alpha threw down the smoke bomb, enveloping herself in the fog. Once it cleared, Alpha was gone… and all the guards were lying on the ground, unable to move.


	44. Chapter 43

**Sorry it took me so long to update this one. It's my longest chapter yet! :D Anyways, thanks Jillian, Goldden eyes, and God's Great Dance Floor for your latest reviews. :) This chapter will reveal some foreshadowing up upcoming events. Some of you guys will be able to figure it out right away. Enjoy! :)**

* * *

**Chapter 43**

Beck stared out the window with Tron until an alarm went off. Something new and unusual was happening in Argon. Beck snapped back to reality as he walked next to Tron over to the big screen.

Tron pressed a few buttons and an image came up. It was an image of a masked medic, along with a small video. Beck recognized the jade green light patterns.

The medic was laying little bombs onto the outside of Tesler's base, which seemed like a pretty stupid/brave thing. The image and video was labeled 'The Loner'. Beck pointed to the title. "Why's the image labeled that?"

Tron glanced up at the label as well. "That's probably her name. Just you're called: 'The Renegade'. The messenger program is known as: 'The Librarian'. Everyone has some sort of nickname."

Beck nodded. "That makes sense."

They watched the video of 'The Loner' setting the bombs on the base. When they went off, the outcome was stunning, even Tron was speechless. They were paint bombs, but they didn't say 'Tron Lives' like the others usually do. Instead, the paint spelled out 'Clu Lies!'

Beck eventually broke the silence. "Well, apparently she doesn't believe in our cause. She's probably getting revenge on Clu, sort of like the time when I blew up that statue. Personally, I think I made an improvement with that design of Clu." Beck couldn't help but add that last part. He really was proud of what he did that night.

Another alert popped onto the screen. Tron pressed the image as well, revealing an image of another medic program with neon green circuits, and she had a very familiar emblem. The image was titled: Alpha.

Tron narrowed his eyes. "That's strange, I've never heard of this program before." Tron glanced back at the image of 'The Loner'. "I've never heard of that one either." There were lots of new rebels this cycle. Beck looked at the image.

"So that's what 'The Alpha' looks like." Beck said half to himself. Tron looked at Beck.

"Wait, you've heard of this program?" Beck shrugged and nodded.

"Well, I heard several programs talking about her during the train ride to Bismuth. I don't think I've ever seen what she looked like, let alone met her." Beck narrowed his eyes. "But I've seen several programs with neon green circuits. I've seen it often actually."

There was a small video on Alpha. _"Any last words, program?" _Alpha quickly took out a smoke bomb. _"How about a magic trick instead?"_ The guards were obviously confused. Alpha continued. _"I'm gonna make myself… disappear."_ Alpha threw down the smoke bomb as the guards came running at her.

She didn't take the advantage to run; instead, she attacked them, using the smoke to her advantage. She had a unique way of fighting though. She was throwing jabs at them, just using index and middle fingers on each hand. Every time her two fingers came in contact with a body, they fell to the ground, paralyzed.

When all the guards were down, Alpha turned and ran while there were some smoke wisps left to use as a cover. She was very smart. She could play the odds to her advantage. And Alpha was smart enough to leave the fight just before the smoke cleared.

Tron watched the video with interest. When it ended, he cleared his throat and turned to Beck. "Well, time to make a decision. Should we find out more about 'The Alpha', or should we investigate on 'The Loner'?"

That was a hard question for Beck. Both of the medics were very intelligent and determined, but they both seemed to have an edge to them. 'The Loner' seemed to want revenge, instead of supporting the cause. She'd probably not want to see the Renegade anyways.

Alpha didn't give off much about herself. She joked a little with the guards, but Beck was sure that she really wasn't there to mess with the occupation. Alpha had to be in Purgos for a much bigger reason, a reason that Beck couldn't guess.

By the way Alpha acted, she didn't expect to run into trouble, but she handled it surprisingly well. Alpha was taken by surprise, and she still beat the guards like she had no problem with it. That meant Alpha would be a difficult program to take down.

Beck knew that if Alpha was challenged, she wouldn't back down. So if Beck cornered her while she was doing whatever she was doing, it's likely that she would attack him.

Beck looked at Tron. "Um, I'm not sure that we should confront these programs…yet. 'The Loner' seems to just want revenge. Again, I'm referring to the statue incident. Alpha's different though. If we corner her, she will not hesitate to attack both of us. She's very lithe and agile, so she'll probably be able to dodge light tasers. However, if they both constantly cause trouble, then we could confront them and find out their motivations and beliefs."

Tron took a moment to think about what Beck said. It probably would be a better idea to wait and see if the two programs would be at this multiple times, or if it was just a one-time thing.

"Okay, it's probably better if we watch their routines and habits when they're out causing mischief. Everyone has a weakness. Yours was very easy to find. All I had to do was say something."

Beck looked at Tron and narrowed his eyes. "Heeeeeeeey!" Tron smirked and gripped Beck's shoulders, turning him around and pushing him in the direction of the simulation room.

"Go. Get out of here! You're sloppier than usual with training. Get the hang of things, or else I'm gonna have to whack you back into shape myself." Beck smirked and shook his head as he walked into the simulation room.

"Give me a break. I was just… distracted." Tron's voice echoed through the room.

"Oh? Well, then I suppose I'll have to make sure that you get back on topic. Pay attention." Beck groaned as Tron selected another simulation.

_Training again. This is gonna be fun…_

…

Paige rode on her lightcycle through Argon. Her jade green circuits glowing bright. Paige had reprogrammed her outfit and changed back into her old medic uniform. She would never again wear those corrupted, ugly orange and red colors. _Wait a second!_ Paige thought for a moment.

If Paige never returned to the base after this incident, her face would be put on the wanted posters again. That's the last thing she wanted. She sighed heavily when she realized that she'll have to come back.

Paige flipped on her mask and stopped her bike. When she turned it back into a baton, Paige pulled out several paint bombs. Even though she was trained to be a medic and to fight, she knew a little bit about designing codes. So this paint wasn't going to come off of the base wall easily.

Paige smirked with delight when she took out a detonator that was synched to all of the devices that she decorated the outer wall with.

After she checked to make sure that they were all synched, she turned and rezzed her bike to get the heck out of there. Because once the paint bombs go off, there were going to be guards all over the place. Paige, of course, knew that. She served Tesler and Clu as a commander for… who knows how long. Paige lost track after 789 cycles.

Paige stopped her bike and climbed onto the rooftop of a large building. She took a deep breath when she pulled out the detonator and hovered her thumb over the button. Once she did this, there would be no going back.

Of course, Paige didn't want her face pasted onto a billboard after this, so she'll still have to work for Clu... undercover, of course. However, if the army starts scanning each other's disks, Paige would have to leave for sure. She'd rather have her face posted on a board later instead of sooner.

Right now though, Paige is going to have some fun. It's time that the rest of Argon knew the truth about Clu… and the rest of his army. Paige smiled under her mask as she pressed the button and watched the design take shape on the outer wall of the base.

The words: 'Clu Lies' was written all over the wall in jade green like her circuits, so Clu will realize that it was a program that was dressed like a medic.

Paige was surprised to see how fast the soldiers reacted to what happened to the ship. She was beginning to wonder whether that was really how fast she reacted to a situation like that, or if it was just because of the shocking words that were vandalizing the base.

It was actually kind of funny how the soldiers reacted when they saw what happened. Pavel actually screamed when he saw the words. Paige couldn't help but laugh.

Now she understood why the Renegade rebelled so much. It was because he really knew what kind of a program Clu was. He was defending Argon and the innocent programs. Perhaps he also enjoyed the rush of excitement when he was on the run.

Paige stopped laughing and started to climb down from the rooftop. She wasn't thinking of joining him. Paige still refused to forgive the Renegade for almost killing her when he jumped the gorge to get away from Cyrus.

Though Paige was still alive, and therefore, overreacting about what happened. But in her defense, she was in shock at the time. Paige had never jumped a canyon before, and she never expected anything like that from the Renegade.

It was actually hard to believe that Cyrus would find the Renegade predictable. Speaking of Cyrus, Paige still wondered what Cyrus wanted with her in the first place. He was pretty vague about the situation.

The Renegade's friend said something about Cyrus being jealous of him. _About not getting to wear that white suit?_ Paige rolled her eyes at the thought.

Though she had to admit that the white suit looked pretty awesome, she didn't understand why it seems so important. _What's so important about that suit anyways? It's not like it used to belong to Tron himself._

Paige smirked at the thought as she reached the base of the building. It would be kind of funny… and a little creepy if the suit really was Tron. Paige started walking down the road. It was past curfew, but she couldn't be seen until she reached a wider street.

She stopped again and narrowed her eyes when she thought for a moment. _What if the Renegade's right after all? What if the 'Tron Lives' message really is true?_ Paige frowned and shook her head as she resumed walking down the narrow street. _Tron couldn't possibly be alive. Clu said that he killed Tron himself._

Paige stopped walking again, standing right at the end of the alley and just a footstep away from being on a wide, open road. Paige pinched her lips together as she prepared for the chase of her life.

On cue, the moment Paige stepped onto the road, a blinding light shone down on her. It was a recognizer. Paige cursed and started running. She knew that if she rezzed her lightcycle, it would just be cornered and destroyed by another bike. She knew that common trick.

If Paige was going to get away alive, she'd have to outrun the soldiers on foot. Paige was approaching a bridge, where there were more soldiers on the other side. She glanced behind her, there were soldiers chasing her as well.

Maybe Paige could fight them off. She had the skill. She was trained to handle tough situations like this. Or… Paige bit her lip, thinking hard about her other option. She could just jump off the bridge and ditch the guards.

That seemed like a better idea than risking to give away her fighting techniques that she learned from the military. Yeah, it was a much better idea… or so she thought. When Paige reached the side of the bridge, she groaned in frustration.

It was a long way down. At the bottom, there was the sea. Its waves crashed against the shore. Paige wasn't that good of a swimmer. She turned around… to find herself surrounded. The soldiers were so close that she wouldn't be able to fight them off now without being captured.

Now she only had one option to get away… Paige had to jump off the bridge. **"Identify, program!"** One of the guards commanded as he stepped forward to apprehend Paige.

Paige backed up until her back brushed against the railing of the bridge. Paige thought for a moment. _What should I be called?_ An idea occurred to her. Something to represent who she really was.

Paige straightened her back and grinned mischievously under her mask. "I'm 'The Loner'!" Paige then turned and leaped over the rail without hesitation.

She felt the surge of air as she fell and felt the slap of cold water as she landed into the sea of simulation. Paige had to admit that she had a great time. It was really fun.

Paige swam over to the shore and hauled herself into land again. Her body seemed to weigh a lot more than she remembered. Hopefully, it was just the water, and not her decreasing strength from the exertion tonight. She lay down on her back and caught her breath.

Paige eventually got back up and walked towards an alleyway. When she found what she was looking for, she rushed inside to change her outfit back to the army uniform colors which Paige now despised.

Once she was back in the familiar orange and red circuits with the heels, Paige took out her baton and rode back to the base to see how Clu reacted. She couldn't wait to see everyone's faces.

Even though she didn't want anything to do with the occupation anymore, she had to stay to keep herself undercover. From now on, she would trust no one.

Paige will have no allies, just as a safeguard to make sure that she wouldn't be turned in. Just because Paige was now a rebel and understood the Renegade better, doesn't mean that they'll be allies. But since the Renegade was always honest with her… and saved her life before, Paige would no longer try to turn him in.

Paige now considers the Renegade another program with a common interest with Paige, he wishes to fight against Clu. Paige has another intention though. Paige isn't just fighting against Clu, she's seeking revenge. And this was only just the beginning.

…

Alpha had literally searched the **entire** city of Purgos! She couldn't find her long lost boyfriend. Maybe he really was dead… and that it was just false hope that brought her here.

On the brighter side of her situation, Alpha didn't run into any gangs besides that one group that let her go. The leader seemed… strange. He acted like he completely understood what Alpha was going through. She was both grateful and weirded out.

Alpha had also changed her circuitry… again. This time, she was wearing normal medic patterns with neon colors, as usual along with a mask and high heels. She took off her emblem so she would avoid trouble while she was out.

Alpha sighed when she pulled out her baton and rezzed her bike. It was time to leave. If Alpha didn't meet back with Sky soon, he'd be turning Argon upside down, looking for her. For all she knew, he was probably doing that now.

Alpha was surprised to see that Sky was just relaxing in a chair when she walked into the small apartment. He lifted his head and smiled at her with relief. "Oh good, I was beginning to worry about you. Where in users name have you been?"

Alpha smiled slightly under her mask as she walked over to him. "Relax… I was just… out. You know, calming down, blowing off some steam." Sky raised an eyebrow quizzically. Alpha continued. "Without causing trouble."

Sky nodded slowly and sighed with relief. "Good, the last thing we need is for Clu to know that we're her in Argon." Alpha was starting to feel tired again. Sky looked at Alpha again and frowned in concern. "Hey, are you alright?"

Alpha blinked under her mask and nodded. "Uh, yeah. I'm just… tired… that's all." Sky got up and gripped her arm to support her.

He looked down at her circuits. "Yeah, no kidding. When was the last time you had a shot of energy? Your circuits are just beginning to fade again." Sky looked up at Alpha again as she was slowly starting to go limp.

"I… had energy… when you… set that glass down… by the… bed." Alpha couldn't hold her own weight anymore and her legs gave way beneath her. Sky's quick reflexes allowed him to catch her before she fell.

He wrapped one arm around her shoulders and eased the other behind her knees. When Sky straightened up, he started walking to Alpha's room. He glanced at her in concern again.

"You know, if you're going to keep living life with a mask constantly covering your face, you should at least have more energy than you usually do. Otherwise, you could derez from lack of nourishment."

Alpha let out a half laugh and closed her eyes as Sky gently put her down on the bed. He leaned in and whispered. "I'll leave some energy for you when you wake up."

Alpha smiled a little. Sky was always looking out for her. He was a good program, a nice friend to have around. He was right too. If Alpha didn't take better care of herself, she could derez. Simple as that. The first thing she needed was sleep. Alpha slowly closed her eyes and slid into oblivion.

Two millicycles later, Alpha opened her eyes again, feeling refreshed. The sleep definitely helped her. She was all caught up. Like Sky said, he left a glass of energy beside the bed, along with a full bottle of the stuff.

_Wow, Sky definitely knew how badly I needed energy… and how much._ Alpha definitely needed energy, it was amazing that Sky knew the right amount of energy to restore Alpha back to average health.

She sat up as her mask receded. She noticed that she slept with pillows and blankets again. She sighed with frustration and hung her head. Alpha seriously had to stop getting used to those useless comforts, or her attitude would become softer than those pillows.

Alpha stole herself to take a glance at her circuits to see how low her levels were. She gasped. Did she even have any circuitry left? Her neon colors were hardly giving off a glow anymore.

She turned to the table for the glass of energy. She slowly tilted the glass to her lips. She knew better than to gulp it down all at once. That would overwhelm her codes and she would literally explode. Not like a bomb would, but her pixels would go flying everywhere.

After two nanocycles, she set the glass down and looked at her circuitry again. Thankfully, she could make out her circuits a little better than before. She didn't pick up the glass or refill it again until about five nanocycles later.

Catching up on energy when you're dangerously low can be a very slow, gradual process. Alpha was lucky that she knew this stuff, otherwise she would've been nothing but pixels by now.

After Alpha consumed her third shot of energy, she was completely back to normal. She stood up to glimpse in the mirror again. Even though her image was disappointing to look at, she couldn't help but to see what she looks like.

Her artificial image was unchanged… except her hair. It was starting to get too long for her mask to manage. Alpha carefully drew her disk and activated it so she could cut it. Hopefully Sky wouldn't walk in while she's doing this, otherwise her hand could slip and Alpha would be history.

Alpha gripped her hair and her disk cut through it with ease. Her hair was barely touching her shoulders now. Its style was perfectly even all around her head. Now she was going to style it. Adjusting her grip on her disk, Alpha made choppy designs at the tips.

By the time she was finished, her new hairstyle made her look like a whole new program. Her eyes still glowed neon green, along with her high heels and medic circuits. Her sandy colored hair was now short and below chin length. The only thing that was missing was her neon green emblem.

She looked beautiful. Only her appearance was just… disappointing. This isn't what she even looked like! This wasn't the **real** her! Her blank, staring expression was replaced with sudden anger with herself. What would her boyfriend think of this if he really was alive and saw her like this?

Alpha sighed and let her mask slide back over her face to cover her disappointing image. _When the time is right, when I find him, I'll no longer have to be like this._ Alpha didn't want to risk being recognized by anyone from her past if she was ever seen without a mask.

The Librarian was the only program from her past who knew about Alpha. They both go way back, before Clu betrayed Flynn and Tron and took over the grid. Alpha knew that she could trust Evelyn to keep her past a secret from others.

Evelyn didn't know everything about Alpha though. Alpha never told Evelyn about her boyfriend, or what she had planned for later on.

Alpha inhaled and exhaled slowly a few times before taking the empty glass and bottle and walking out of her bedroom.

Sky was sitting in his chair, head resting in his hands. Alpha bit her lip and tiptoed past him, not wanting to bother him. As she stopped in front of a small sink to clean the bottle and glass, she pursed her lips.

Sky looked very tense and too focused on their situation. Unlike Alpha, who can handle that kind of stuff, Sky seemed incapable of handling all of this stuff. Alpha thought for a moment, wondering how she could take his mind off of their situation.

An idea occurred. Perhaps Alpha could take him back to the club, despite how well that ended the last time they were there. It felt like a good idea though. The two of them could dance to the beat of the music and comfort each other… or Alpha could just comfort him.

Alpha belonged with another program. She didn't have strong feelings for Sky, she just thought of him as a really good friend or companion to have around. Sky was a very humorous program and he was fun to have around. Alpha wanted her friend back.

When she finished rinsing out the bottle and glass, she set them down to dry on the counter. Alpha turned and walked away from the sink and back to the living room, where Sky still was. He was still sitting in his cramped form.

Either he was depressed, maybe sleeping, or really stressed out, Alpha expected the latter. She stopped by his side and gently touched his arm. Startled, Sky looked up with wide eyes. He calmed down when he realized that it was just Alpha.

Alpha giggled and smiled a little under her mask. "You seem a little too 'on edge', don't you think?" Sky sighed heavily and lowered his head into his hands again. Alpha's smile wilted and faded away when she realized that she wasn't helping.

Alpha rested her hand lightly on his shoulder. "Hey, are you okay?" Sky shook his head while it was still resting in his hands. He sort of looked funny while he did it. Alpha would have laughed if Sky wasn't acting so… sad.

"Sky…" Alpha eased her hand gently under Sky's jaw and turned his head to look at her. "What's wrong?" Sky frowned and sighed.

"Ugh, where do I begin?" Alpha removed her hand from his face and relaxed it by her side. Sky took a deep breath and kept looking at Alpha.

"You should probably sit down." His eyes widened after he finished that sentence. He had forgotten that he was sitting in the only chair in this room. "I, uh… *Ahem* Sorry, I… completely forgot that… uh, yeah."

Alpha giggled and sat down in his lap. "It's okay. I don't mind. You were saying?" Sky pursed his lips and nodded slightly.

"Uh, yeah. We've got a problem." Alpha tilted her head to one side, asking Sky without saying the words. "Chad told me before we got separated that we were going to regroup next cycle from right now, but…"

Alpha felt dread and tension building up inside of her. "But what? Sky, what happened?"

Sky closed his eyes and shook his head. "I-I don't know. I only received word from him that there were some major setbacks and we can't regroup with the rest of the resistance until about, er... five cycles from now."

Alpha's eyes widened in shock. "Wait a second! Did you say 'five cycles from now'?! I can't believe this! Chad had better have a good reason for holding me back!" Sky placed a hand on Alpha's shoulder to calm her down.

"Alpha, I have no idea why we're being held back, **but** the message seemed pretty urgent to keep you away. Something **big** is probably happening right now, Alpha. Just be patient and we'll be back before you know it."

Alpha couldn't be 100% sure, but Sky sounded like he was trying to reassure himself, as well as Alpha. She sighed, knowing that as a friend, she should be trying to cheer him up and put him at ease.

"Come on!" Alpha said excitedly as she got up and pulled Sky onto his feet as well. "Well… since we have lots of spare time we should make the most of it. Let's go dance at the club and have fun or… something like that!" Sky smiled as he realized that she was trying to help, so he let her.

"Well then, let's get going. I'd hate to miss out on some fun." Alpha smiled under her mask back at Sky… even though she knew that he couldn't see her. They walked out the door, suddenly feeling optimistic about their **unexpected** time off.

It was about time that they enjoyed themselves after working so hard for so many cycles. This delay should be considered a gift for both programs. Now was their opportunity to have some fun… before they're back in the facility, working.

To be honest though, Alpha hoped that Sky wouldn't start thinking that she was crushing on him or something. She was just doing this to cheer him up. Besides, Sky didn't even know what Alpha looked like. Why and how would he even like someone who they can't even see?

Instead of riding their bikes, they walked to the club. Sky and Alpha had plenty of time to blow off some steam and have some fun before curfew started.

When they arrived at the club, they immediately fell in love with the beat of the music. Alpha felt Sky slide his hand into hers, and interlocking their fingers. Alpha glanced down at their hands, then back at Sky as he smiled, and led her over to the dance floor.

"May I have this dance?" Sky said when he spun her once and eased her downward.

Alpha smiled under her mask as he pulled her back up. "Yes, you may…" That was when the real party began. They danced with each other for a very long time until nanos from curfew. They were late.

Alpha laughed lightly while they were running from the recognizers that were chasing them. Sky was still wearing his citizen disguise, but Alpha was dressed as a normal medic with heels and neon green circuits.

They knew not to ride their bikes until they ditched all the soldiers that were chasing them. Alpha knew that they'd outrun them because they were trained to do this kind of stuff. They've done this before.

They whipped around a corner and hid in a dark alley, not nearly out of breath. They just laughed. Alpha looked outside to check if the coast was clear, when it was, they rode their bikes the rest of the way back to their apartment.

They stopped in front of the door and walked inside. Sky sat down in the chair, Alpha sat in his lap, again. They started laughing again. The experience was so exhilarating, they couldn't help it.

After they recovered, they started to form a plan, or schedule of what they would do in the time being. They had lots of it. They had five more cycles before they met up with the resistance again… hopefully.

Alpha and Sky were both wondering why the message that told them to stay in hiding sounded so urgent. Chad said that there was a major setback. What could the setback possibly be though? The Resistance always had various plans set up for different scenarios.

It had better be a good reason for keeping Alpha out of the fight. Chad wasn't trying to keep them away on purpose…was he?

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**I found this website to make absolute sure that we get our second season. It's called smgo Tv Tron Uprising Season 2. you can't miss it. I'll update as soon as possible. TRON LIVES! XD Toodles!**


	45. Chapter 44

**Hi yah! Thank you for all your reviews so far! :) I'm happy. So here's chapter 44. Enjoy! :D**

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**Chapter 44**

Beck. Was. Tired. There was no question about it. Tron had trained Beck until he take on twenty guards with his eyes closed with one arm behind his back. That was no joke either.

When Beck got back to the garage, he plopped down on his bed and fell asleep immediately… but it wasn't peaceful. In fact, Beck's disturbing dreams were as opposite from peaceful as it could possible get.

The dream definitely wasn't pretty either.

Ally stood in front of Beck, the wind blowing her hair into her face, except there was no wind. She didn't bother to brush her hair from her face; she just stood there, staring at Beck, her face full of hatred. "You left me behind. You never loved me." Her voice sounded hollow and every word seemed to echo.

Beck felt hurt. "No, no I'd never mean to leave you behind. I love you." Ally's eyes narrowed even more, showing nothing friendly, only pure hatred.

"You never deserved to be spared by the Crims, you were meant to die." What Ally said had stung him. It hurt so much and went down so deep, nothing could fix it. Ally didn't stop insulting him. "I you didn't deserve someone like me. You don't deserve anyone."

"Ally…" Beck stepped towards to caress her hair, to do something to prove that he still loved her, that he only ever loved Ally. Before he could say another word, Ally disappeared. That's when the real chaos happened.

Zed and Mara looked at Beck with blank expressions. "You lied to us." Mara said. "You're the Renegade, but don't act so proud. You never made it better for us. You're a criminal who needs to be eliminated."

Zed glared at Beck. "I was right all along. The Renegade had to be brought to justice, and I still believe it. You're no Tron and you never will be!"

Zed and Mara's words began to sink in when they disappeared. Paige appeared and scowled at Beck as she drew her disk and threw it. Beck dodged. Paige caught her disk and held it. "What did you hoped to accomplish by rebelling? It didn't help anyone!" Beck frowned when Paige disappeared as well.

Cyrus appeared, smiling and laughing maniacally. "Well, well, well. The Renegade's survived after all of his hardships. It's too bad that all that effort will be put to waste. You think you're helping them, but you're not. I'm going to show you who's better."

Cyrus punched Beck in the head, knocking him to the ground. Beck got back onto his feet throw a punch, but Cyrus was gone. Able and the other mechanics from the garage stood before him. Without a word, they drew their disks at the same time and activated them.

They were going to kill him! Beck's eyes widened and he took a step back. It didn't help though, they all surrounded him. Beck was tired of running, but it was his only choice of getting away… he didn't want to fight them.

Beck turned and pushed his way through the crowd of angry programs and ran. A disk cut his left arm. Beck escaped and hid around a corner. He sighed with relief when he found that they all disappeared.

But then, Beck's surroundings started to change. He was no longer hiding behind a corner. Beck was standing in a pit. Tron stood in front of him, wearing his usual serious expression. Beck furrowed an eyebrow. "Tron… what's going on?"

Tron stepped forward, forcing Beck to step backwards. "You never do anything right! You don't deserve my name… or the suit. Cyrus accomplished more than you!" Beck felt his back press against something, but only for a moment. It gave way and Beck fell through.

When he looked around, he realized where he was. He was locked in compressed space. Beck's arm hurt, where the disk had scratched it. Beck shivered and drew his knees to his chest. He was shivering because he was cold, he was sad… he was afraid.

Ally reappeared behind Beck, just in arm's length. Beck sighed with relief that Ally was back. At least she didn't look angry anymore. Beck relief turned to shock when Ally drew her disk and took a step closer. "Your actions got me killed! Now, my actions will return the favor!"

Suddenly, Beck couldn't move. He couldn't even turn his head to find out why. Ally bared her perfect, white teeth and ran her disk through his midsection. Beck gasped in pain as he sunk down to his knees and started to derez.

He heard Ally laughing maniacally as he died, as if slowly falling apart, bit by bit, was the funniest thing she'd ever seen. The pain that Beck felt was overwhelming. Derezzing in this dream felt real. It felt more painful than it did in simulations.

Beck's vision went black when he heard a distant voice call out his name. _"Beck! Beck! BECK!"_ Someone grabbed Beck's shoulders and shook him violently until he forced his eyes open.

Zed stood in front of Beck, gripping Beck's shoulders hard. Beck must've been screaming his head off during his nightmare. Mara stood close behind, concern obvious on her face.

"Beck, what's wrong?" Beck opened his mouth to say that everything was fine, but Mara held up a hand to stop him. "Don't say that you're fine! You were screaming your head off for the past five nanos and Zed was unable to wake you up!"

Guilt rose up inside of Beck. He must've woken up at least half of his coworkers in the garage. Beck's door slid open to reveal Able walking, no… running inside. "What happened?! Is somebody hurt?" Mara shook her head and pointed a finger at Beck. Zed stepped away, folding his arms and raised an eyebrow as he looked at Beck with concern as well.

Able narrowed his eyes as he asked Zed and Mara to leave. He assured them that everything was fine and sent them back to their dorms. When the door slid shut noiselessly behind them, Able turned back to beck. "Alright, tell me what the problem is."

Beck looked down and shook his head. "Able, there's nothing that can be done. I… I just had a nightmare, that's all." Able crossed his arms and pursed his lips. "What was this nightmare all about?"

Beck felt embarrassment rising up inside as well. "Um, well… you wouldn't understand half of the stuff. But, uh, let's just say that I dreamt that I got derezzed and I might've been screaming from the pain."

Able looked at Beck as if he said something really stupid and he uncrossed his arms, letting them hang by his sides. "Might've been screaming?! Beck, you were screaming bloody murder! I don't know how many programs you woke up, but we'll start the list with Zed and Mara. Just calm down and go back to sleep, or just entertain yourself **quietly**."

Able walked out, leaving Beck alone again. Great, now everyone is going to think that Beck has lost his mind. Maybe he has. Beck shook his head. _No, I can't end up like Cyrus. The grid already has enough problems, the last thing it needs is another threat._

Hopefully, Able, Zed, and Mara won't think that Beck's starting to become Cyrus. If that happened, Tron and Able would have him locked up in another compressed space. Then what would happen? Would Beck get light lines all over his face? Would he become bent on destroying the grid too? Would he turn his back on Tron and hurt Able and his friends?

There were so many questions and so little answers. If Beck had to experience the problems to find out, he'd rather not try to find out.

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**Yeah, I know it's short and only written in Beck's perspective. That was the point. I wanted to build up suspension. I'll update soon. (No promises) Don't forget to go on the website I shared last chapter. I couldn't type down the address of the website due to SPAM. :( As always, TRON LIVES! Toodles! :)**


	46. Chapter 45

**Sorry it took so long to upload this chapter. But I personally think it was worth it. :) You'll find out later. And I think I should add: I'm going to educate you all every other chapter (And several other stories to come). First off, some of you might have noticed that several cities on the grid (Including mine: Neon City) those cities are most likely named after the elements of the periodic table. It's kind of funny in my opinion. I'll also educate you with other various things. (I'll teach you the formula of momentum this chapter, just for fun. XD) Enjoy! :)**

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**Chapter 45**

Paige walked back down the hallways of the base, heading for the throne ship. Clu had summoned her… and Paige was nervous. She hoped that Clu hadn't figured her out already. She had more stuff planned out to ruin Clu's image.

When she entered through the doors, she saw images of 'The Loner' scattered on a board. Dyson stood in front of the board, studying the images carefully. He was taking every detail of the image. A chill shot down Paige's back. It felt uncomfortable, knowing that someone was staring at your image and trying to figure out who you are.

Clu sat in a chair, back facing the board, head resting in his hands, elbows in knees. He looked in deep thought… or he looked defeated. Nope, he's in deep thought. Clu lifted his head and looked at Paige. "Ah, there you are. Have you heard about what happened last night?"

Paige swallowed hard and looked at Clu with a straight face. "Yes, sir. I heard of what happened last night. What should we do about it?"

Clu kept his eyes locked on hers. "Actually, I was hoping that you'd tell me."

An alarm went off in Paige's head. _Uh oh, is he onto me? I hope I can throw him off. Surly the Renegade's been through this before._ "Sir?"

Clu raised his eyebrows. "You're the professional with renegade programs; I was hoping that you could suggest some options to apprehend this… **Loner**."

Paige nodded like she was going to take his orders and actually follow them. Paige knew better though. After all, Paige **was** 'The Loner'. There was no way that she'd turn herself in.

"Well, renegade programs typically have strong motivations… and lots of stupid bravery to do something that bold. Whoever this program is, she most likely doesn't like you much." Paige's eyes widened and pretended to cringe when she said that. "Oh, sorry sir. I was only speaking figuratively." In reality though, Paige meant the words.

Clu thought long and hard about what Paige said. After a while, he gave her a curt nod, obviously dismissing her. "Thank you, Commander Paige. There's not much that you'll be able to do to help now. Dyson and I will put your advice to use in order to catch this new Renegade."

The words made Paige flinch. _New Renegade?_ Paige was a troublemaker now, but she didn't mean to become another **Renegade**. She hoped that she wouldn't be considered some ally of a sort with the Renegade; she wasn't ready for that yet. But it might've been too late for that now.

Apparently, Clu thinks that she's somehow involved with the Renegade. Paige will fix that though, she'll make her new name clearer. **Paige. Is. Alone.** No one is helping her; Paige can do things on her own.

Paige bowed slightly before turning to walk out of the room. Since she has more time off, she'll make the most of it. It's time to make her statement. This one should be in a more populated place, where more programs will want to know what her message means. And as always, it will be **True**.

…

Beck felt guilty for waking everyone up last night. Thankfully, no one mentioned it or complained. The nightmare still lingered in Beck's head. He could still feel the imaginary cut on his arm, and the slow, painful process of derezzing.

But what bothered Beck the most, was how cruel and cold Ally's eyes were when she struck at him with her disk. Even though it was just a nightmare, it all felt so real, and that made it the hardest to get out of his head.

As he walked down the street, heading nowhere in particular, he rubbed the side of his head where Cyrus punched him in his dream. _How come my dreams don't only look real, but they __**feel**__ real?"_ Beck checked his pocket to make sure that he still had the suit. Ever since Cyrus stole it the first time, Beck was always making sure that he still had it.

In the distance, Beck heard loud gasps. His eyes narrowed as he ran over to the scene to see what was going on. Beck couldn't help but gasp as well and look up in shock. Written in jade green in Argon Square, were bigger, bolder letters spelling out: 'Clu Lies'.

It was incredible that the big letters were written on all of the four walls, the ground. It was all over the place. The sight was beautiful, but at the same time, it was mysterious. The Loner seemed to have an aggressive side to her.

Beck looked around carefully to look for the culprit. It was obvious that this program wasn't doing this as a one-time thing like he thought she was. Beck and Tron knew not to engage on a program until they've done something rebellious more than once.

Apparently, she had done this more than once, meaning that it's going to become persistent. The Loner's message is obviously more irritating for Clu than the 'Tron Lives' message is, meaning that she'll become the top priority for the occupation now.

Beck and Tron should probably try to find her before Clu does. Beck was sure that Clu wouldn't be in a good mood if he did catch 'The Loner' first. Beck turned around and rezzed his bike. He was going to see Tron, ask him what he should do now.

When Beck arrived at the hideout, Tron was standing by the big screen, doing… whatever he was doing. Beck approached Tron casually, and thinking of how he should start the discussion. "Uh, hi."

Tron narrowed his eyes in confusion as he turned his head half facing Beck, the other half still facing the screen. "Hello. Do you want to tell me why you sound so awkward and nervous?"

Beck pinched his lips together and looked at the floor. "Uh, yeah. The… Lo-"

Tron cut him off. "The Loner struck again, didn't she?" Beck nodded in response. Tron nodded back. "If you're going to confront her, I can't go with."

Beck looked up and narrowed his eyes. "Why?"

Tron turned around and faced Beck completely. "I'm going to spy on Clu and Dyson. It would also help you because if they were watching her, I'd be able to provide a distraction so you don't have to deal with them."

Beck nodded again. "Okay, so… that's it?"

Tron turned back to the screen. "Yes, that's it." Beck realized that the big screen contained Blue prints for The base. _That sneaky program! Clu would hate him so much… if he doesn't already._ Beck thought with a small smile.

"Okay then… bye!" Beck turned and jogged out of the room. And put on the white suit, which he brought with.

Tron stopped him. "Beck!"

Beck stopped. "Yeah?"

Without turning around, Tron explained that 'The Loner' was over by the docks, laying more of those paint bombs. "And she's sure to continue tonight."

Beck nodded one last time and slowly started walking to the elevator. "So, when I find her, where should I take her? To the abandoned warehouse?"

Tron shook his head. "No, bring her to the hideout."

Beck stopped. "Really?"

Tron simply kept sifting through the files and nodded. "Yes. Her motivations seem a little peculiar. I want to find out more about her."

Beck simply shrugged and nodded. "Alright, but if you're not back here in time, I'm going to do the talking."

Tron rolled his eyes as Beck stepped into the elevator and rode his bike out of the hideout. "Sure thing." Tron muttered as he closed the files and changed into his white circuited disguise and walked out of the hideout as well.

Beck kept riding to the docks, where Tron told Beck she was supposed to be right now. He eventually parked his bike and derezzed it back into a baton. His white suit glowed brightly in the dark as he looked around. He had no idea how crafty this program was, so he'd have to be careful.

Beck stopped when he heard a slight ticking noise. He froze up and his pixels turned to ice. He turned around and saw the devices. Beck's eyes widened and dove to the ground and covered his head when they went critical.

The paint bombs exploded and left the message: 'Clu Lies written all over the walls… and Beck. He slowly got to his feet and noticed that for some reason, he wasn't covered in paint. Narrowing his eyes, he walked over to the wall to study the paint bombs.

As he carefully examined one of the bombs, he realized that they weren't designed to blow up; they just added a code to whatever they were attached to. A wall, floor, door (ha, a rhyme), a ceiling, and the list keeps on going.

When the bombs went off, they added a viral code to the wall, which allowed the wall to display what the viral code contained. In this case, it's 'Clu Lies'.

The coding was incredibly genius. The Loner must know quite a bit about codes and such because this stuff was designed to be permanent. Beck smirked under his mask when he thought of Argon City showing the phrase: 'Clu Lies' written everywhere.

Realizing that 'The Loner' must've left the scene, Beck frowned and walked away from the wall. Even though he didn't manage to bring her in, there were other chances to do so. Besides, Tron might be very interested in knowing this about the coding of these devices. Beck carefully picked one of the paint bombs off the wall to bring back.

Just then, not that far away, another few paint bombs went off. Beck immediately took off running towards the scene, quickly changing into a soldier disguise as he got closer. He stopped in front of another wall just outside of the docks.

Quickly thinking, Beck thought of each and every escape route possible… there was only one in this particular area. Beck turned and headed towards the place where he could corner The Loner for sure.

…

_It. Was. Amazing._ That was all that came to Paige's mind as she kept running. That's what she does when she's going on a vandalizing spree. You have to set off your bombs and get the heck out of there. Or else you're going to have to answer to Clu's forces.

Not all of the soldiers in this city are very smart or experienced. In fact, about 99% of them can only take an order, and even then they're terrible and inexperienced. The odds of Paige getting caught now are highly unlikely. She was finally getting to hang of it.

She was nearing her next destination when one program with very few orange circuits walked out of an alley and stopped, folding his arms. _Crap!_ That was all Paige could think now. This was a cramped area. And by the looks of it, this program might be working directly under Clu considering he moves with lots of certainty and grace. He looked lethal.

Paige had only two choices. Either run away or she could face this obstacle head on… literally. Paige quickly made a decision. She swiftly drew her disk and was about to strike when the program grabbed something off of his waist. Paige gasped in shock.

She didn't have time to react when it landed on her suit. It was a light taser. Paige could feel the shocking red energy wrap around her, knocking her unconscious. The last thing she remembered was her disk falling out of her hand as she fell to the ground.

…

Alpha sat on her bed with her mask off. She was bored. She felt like she needed to punch something. She wasn't angry or anything, it was just impulse. She's always needed something to keep her active instead of her mind. She could lose her sanity completely if she let her mind wander to the past.

The incident that happened so long ago had left her broken inside and severely traumatized. Of course she's felt burning hatred for the programs that caused her suffering, but she knew better than to attack them. She still had her self-control, but she didn't know how much longer it would last.

Alpha heard Sky walking over to her door. Her eyes widened. She was able to react in time and put her mask back on when he opened the door and walked in. "Hey Alpha, I was going to go for a walk. Would you care to join me?"

Alpha smiled under her mask and nodded. It would definitely help take her mind off of the past. "Yeah, sure." She stood up and walked outside with him. Walking was boring though, Alpha felt like adding more excitement on their 'walk'.

She elbowed Sky in the side, snatched his lightcycle baton (she needed some sort of motivation to get him to run) and started running. "Hey!" Sky shouted playfully and chased after her. Alpha grinned mischievously as he started running to get his bike back.

She shook her head and ran faster, making it harder for him to catch up. He was faster than her though, so he was eventually going to catch up. Alpha bit her lip, thinking hard and quickly coming up with something to slow him down. This was excellent practice for training, the instructor would be so proud.

Alpha knew parkour, but she wasn't sure if Sky could do it. But she can't judge him by his appearance, only by his actions. She put Sky's baton in her pocket and ran faster to gain some momentum (Momentum = Mass x Velocity) and then she used her momentum buildup to climb up a nearby wall. It didn't take her long to reach the roof of the building.

When she climbed over the edge, she glanced downward to see if Sky was climbing up, or if he stopped and waited for her to come back down. To her surprise, he knew parkour too. He was climbing up fast.

Alpha smirked and started running across the rooftop. _If Sky can climb onto a roof, he can easily get back down… and jump onto another._ It didn't really take a genius to figure that out. When she reached the edge, she jumped. Alpha reached the next rooftop without a problem.

She glanced behind and was surprised to see that Sky was already jumping onto **this** rooftop. He would catch her before she could get to the next roof. She had fun though. Alpha shrugged, turned and ran as fast as she could to at least **attempt** to try to reach the next rooftop. She didn't make it though.

Sky easily caught up and grabbed Alpha's shoulder, pulling her down to the floor of the roof. Alpha gasped and landed on her back. Sky straddled her and held her wrists down. "Where's my baton?" He asked with a playful smirk across his face.

Alpha chuckled a little. "Alright, I surrender! Just get let me up and I'll give it back." Sky got off of her and Alpha sat up, checking her right pocket where she kept it. It wasn't there. Her eyes widened under her mask and searched frantically in her other pockets. She didn't have it anymore.

Alpha nervously looked back at Sky, who was smirking and holding his baton in his left hand. He must've grabbed it when he pinned her down. Alpha pinched her lips together and swatted the back of his head for fun. "You! How'd you do that?!"

Sky laughed and stood up. Alpha stood up too. She couldn't help but grin. Sky had a great sense of humor. He seemed like a very good friend. Alpha grinned at Sky, even though he couldn't see under her mask.

Sky smiled warmly at Alpha and held out his hand to shake. "That was a very fun and friendly exercise. I honestly enjoyed that. Thank you." Alpha couldn't help but giggle. No one had ever thanked her for elbowing them in the side and running away with their baton. It seemed a bit ironic in her opinion.

Alpha was about to say 'Well, I enjoyed that too.' When all of a sudden, they heard a program gave out a startled cry. It sounded like a guy. (Ha-ha, I said a rhyme) XD

Alpha's smile died and Sky turned serious. "Typically, I would tell you to walk away and pretend that didn't happen. But I know that you wouldn't let me hear the end of it. Besides, that program sounds very distressed."

Alpha's frown turned into a grin that meant she was anticipating excitement. "Then let's go!" She shouted over her shoulder as she jumped off the roof and onto another nearby rooftop. "Come on! We'll never save him in time if we go this slowly!" Sky smiled slightly and ran faster so he caught up in only a few seconds.

Together, they ran and jumped the rooftops to reach the distressed program and try to help him before something bad happened to him. Alpha hoped that they wouldn't be too late. Because this program sounded like he was in serious trouble.

…

This was not what Zed expected. He was just going for a walk! The next thing he knew, he was cornered in an alley by Perl and her boss, Gage. Maybe he should've let Mara go for a walk with him, instead of saying _"No, it's okay, Mara. I'll be fine. It's not like I'll get attacked or anything."_

But because of what Zed said, he jinxed himself. He was practically asking for an attack. And now he got one. Perl smirked and got closer. "Hey Zed, where's that Encom 786? Did you lose it to another cute girl?"

Gage laughed. "That was a good one, Perl! But seriously, I want that bike back. Now, where is it?" Zed scowled and straightened up. He wouldn't tell these creeps where it was. That would be his last and worst mistake.

"No!" Zed said defiantly. Confidence rose up inside of him. If he could take on five black guards, he could handle two street fighters. Gage and Perl glared at Zed as they drew their disks and activated them. Zed's eyes widened as he pressed himself harder against the wall. That was definitely a mistake.

Zed closed his eyes and waited for his end to come… but it never came.

…

Alpha and Sky stopped directly above the scene, still crouching on the rooftops. Alpha had changed back into her medic uniform with the neon green circuits, heels, and her infamous and well-known 'A' emblem. A flicker of recognition flashed across both of their faces. Sky was the first to speak. "Hey! I know him. He and his friend were the ones who dragged me onto the dance floor back at the club that one time!"

Alpha laughed. "Yep. I saw you dancing with that cute, blue-haired program. You two would make a 'perfect' couple." Sky faked a laugh and looked at Alpha. "I think she's already got a guy." He pointed his index finger at the program in danger. "Him."

While they were casually talking, Alpha's mind was screaming. _Hellooooo! There's a program below us that's in danger, while we're sitting here talking as if we're still in the apartment!_ Alpha elbowed him. "Ahem. AHEM! You… do realize that the poor, blue-haired program won't have a guy anymore if we keep talking."

"Right, sorry." Sky reached into his pocket and pulled out energy rope and harnesses. Alpha raised an eyebrow. _Wait… what?! Did he know that we'd need that or is he too much of a 'prepared' kind of guy like Chad always is._

Who was Alpha kidding? She always liked to be prepared too. But under what circumstances made Sky think of carrying energy harnesses and rope? For the record, Alpha has been a bit of a prepared freak before, but she honestly **never** carried rope and harnesses with her during casual times, especially if she was just going for a walk.

But right now, she didn't want to question him. Right now, it was time to save an innocent program whom is in danger. Alpha put on the harness and made sure it was secure, then she attached it to the energy rope. When they were both ready, they jumped and loosening their grip so they can slowly descend and they held the rope tightly in their hands, using a tight grip as friction. Thankfully, they were both wearing gloves.

They were almost at the bottom. Just a little bit further and she could beat up whoever was attacking the cornered program. Alpha drew her disk before reaching to bottom. She landed first and stepped in front of the victim protectively.

Sky landed second and grabbed the program. Sky pressed a button that contracted his rope, lifting them both back onto the rooftop. They had already worked out a plan. Alpha gets to beat up the gangsters while Sky got the program far away from the scene.

Alpha glared at both of her opponents from under her mask. There was a purple, shoulder-length haired girl with pink colored secondary circuits and brown eyes that looked nothing but cold and cruel. The guy that stood next to her in light green secondary colored circuits, with short, dark colored hair and a crooked smile.

There was also something about this guy that was ominously familiar about him. Alpha eventually managed to connect the dots. When she did, uncontrollable anger rose up inside of her. She felt an impulse to bury her disk right through his neck for all the things he's done to her. She felt the lack of restraint inside, and she felt like she might not be able to stop herself.

This program was way too hard to forget. He was the leader of the Crims.

* * *

**I'm leaving you guys (in my opinion) the biggest cliffhanger yet. Alpha apparently knows the leader of the Crims. Some of you can imagine what's going through Alpha's mind: "Oh my gosh! The leader of the Crims, my boyfriend's murderer is standing right in front of me!" One wrong move from Gage and she'll tear him to pieces. XD I can't promise I'll update soon, but I'll try. Also, I added a character bios about 'Alpha' on my profile page. Check it out on your free time. (I'll also share other bios about the other new character, and I'll also add more onto each bios as the story continues) TRON LIVES! Toodles! :)**


	47. Chapter 46

**Yes! I finally updated. Also, I looked at my most recent reviews and I have a few questions to answer. I told you guys before that I'm a Beck X Paige fan in the ANIMATED SERIES. But in this book, I'm going to add my own twist and I'm going to pair the characters-including Beck- with other characters. Anyways, here's my latest chapter. Enjoy! XD**

* * *

**Chapter 46**

Paige woke up only to find herself in a pitch black room. She could barely see anything but at least her mask wasn't off. As she managed to kneel, she noticed her feet were bound and linked to the handcuffs that she also wore. A blinding light suddenly turned on. _Wow. Very dramatic._ Paige thought sarcastically.

A tall, dark program with few orange circuits stood behind her. He looked a little different. Paige couldn't quite understand why he seemed so different from back in the alleyway where he captured her. The light was unbelievably bright. _Was that even necessary? Or is this program blind?_

Paige wasn't even interested to know. She just wants to find a way out! But by taking one look at her captor and her situation, the odds of escaping aren't exactly in her favor. Her only options were to either cooperate, or give him so hard of a time that he'll just derez her on the spot.

Maybe if she's lucky, she won't be taken to Clu, perhaps she'll just be killed without notice. But that's highly unlikely considering all those times she spread the message: 'Clu Lies'. Clu would be furious when he finds out it was her. That she betrayed him.

The thing is, Paige doesn't feel one tiny bit of guilt. She knew that she'd get caught eventually and killed, but she didn't expect it to happen so quickly. _How does the Renegade avoid this so easily? It's nearly impossible!_

Paige's thoughts were interrupted by her captor. "You understand that what you did back there was more than simple vandalism, written out in twisted words?" Paige just scowled. She decided not to cooperate. It was better to die sooner than later.

Though killing Paige quickly right now would be too merciful of a punishment. But hey, she could at least hope. After all, there's no way she'd be able to escape. Paige could barely think straight anyways so there's no way she'll be able to come up with any sort of plan.

She just stayed still, unresponsive. The program tilted his head to one side, trying to analyze her. She hated the feeling of those prying eyes under that mask. Eventually, she had to ask. "So what do you want? Why didn't you take me straight to Clu? Isn't that your job?"

Her captor straightened up. "My objective is to find out your motivations to do such a… shocking thing like that."

Paige frowned. "I thought I made my message clear enough to be self-explanatory. If I'd known that you'd still be confused, I would've come up with something more obvious for **your** level of intellect."

She knew those words stung. Paige was actually more surprised to notice that he didn't smack her for insulting him like that. This could only mean one thing. He's not your average 'working directly under Clu' kind of soldier.

This confused Paige. _Why would Clu send this kind of soldier and not the coldest, hardest soldier that he has? Unless… he has bigger plans than a simple interrogation and punishment._ Paige wasn't sure what the 'bigger plans' were, but hey might not be good.

The mysterious program eventually continued. "So what did motivate you to spread that message around? What makes you think that Clu lies? What did he do to you?"

Paige narrowed her eyes into tiny slits. "I worked under the army under false motivation! Everyone in the army above me lied to me! I'm going to make sure that it doesn't happen to anyone else. Because I'm going to make sure that programs are aware that even Clu will tell lies to put the odds in his favor."

The program clasped his hands behind his back, looking very calm and relaxed. "Any program will do whatever it takes to bend the odds to their favor. Surely **you** would know that."

Paige didn't answer for a while. "**Everyone** knows that. And now, you're one of them. Go report what I said to Clu with my regards!" Paige ended her sentence with a smirk. The conversation was obviously over.

Her captor unclasped his hands and walked over behind her. All he said was: "My pleasure." Paige felt an electric shock spread all over her upper body and fell unconscious again.

…

Beck waited in the main room to wait for the outcome of the interrogation. He let Tron do the talking since Beck wasn't sure how he'd be able to deal with a persistent and feisty program like The Loner. In fact, when Beck took her down, he wasn't sure if she'd actually manage to dodge the taser of get hit. He got his answer soon after.

He snapped back to reality when the door the simulation room opened and closed again. Beck stood up. He frowned when Tron walked out, and The Loner was unconscious in his arms. "What happened?" Beck asked. He didn't think that Tron had ever failed to get a recruit.

Tron took off his mask and frowned. "She's… a very complicated program. I know one thing for sure. She's definitely not looking for allies. She prefers to be on her own; it's better to keep it that way."

Tron held her out to Beck. "Here, when you put her back where you found her, do whatever you can to make it look like it was all just a dream. Don't show yourself to her though. She might attack you."

Beck carefully took her from Tron and turned to leave. As Beck rode back to the place where he found her, something uneasy stirred inside of him. He was so sure that The Loner would make a great ally to the revolution. But it turned out to be a major failure.

When he arrived at the alley, he carefully put her down and looked around to make sure that this place wasn't occupied by other gangs. Thankfully, no one was around. He glanced back at her one more time before leaving. He couldn't shake the feeling that she seemed so familiar. He just couldn't narrow down when he knew her. But it had to be sometime soon.

…

Paige woke up feeling shaky and sore. _What the-_ Paige was back in the alley where she was captured. _What. The. Heck!_ Was that even real, or did she just collapse from exhaustion? She didn't know and right now wasn't the time to think about it.

She got back onto her feet and continued running. She didn't even care whether what happened was true or not, what **did** matter was the fact that she wasn't captured. And now she had no idea how long she was unconscious, but she had to get back to Clu before he started to get suspicious. Though it might already be too late for that.

When she returned, Dyson was waiting for her. _Oh crap!_ He might already know what she's been up to. She'll have to be creative to throw him off of her trail. "Where have you been, Paige? Clu has been waiting for you to return."

Paige frowned. "I was out searching for The Loner after I saw what she did that cycle." She replied smoothly and straight-to-the-point. Dyson frowned. Now he had nothing to hold against her, as long as he's convinced that Paige told the truth.

Dyson led Paige through lots of unfamiliar hallways until she lost track of how many twists and turns she made. Either Paige had a new duty for this cycle, or things weren't going to end well. Paige hoped it wasn't the latter.

Dyson opened a door and stepped aside to let Paige inside first. Paige walked in without question. "So… what's going on? Is there a problem or something?"

Dyson walked inside and closed the door behind him. "Actually, there is a problem of a sort. Do you see that image?" A picture of a medic with neon colored circuitry wearing a mask, high heels, and a glowing neon green 'A' emblem on her chest.

"Do you know who this is, Paige?" Dyson asked.

Paige squinted at the image and shook her head. "Sorry. Am I supposed to know her?"

Dyson pursed his lips. "No, I don't think you **should** already know her. This a program known as 'The Alpha'. She's a leader of an organization called 'The Resistance Movement'. This large group of revolutionists plot to overthrow Clu and take over the system."

Paige's eyes widened with recognition when Dyson mentioned 'Alpha'. _So this is who 'The Alpha' is. I didn't know that there were medics who had neon green circuitry. And what's the Resistance Movement?_

Paige eventually asked the big question that floated through her head. "So, what's this 'Resistance Movement' all about? Do they have any other goals besides 'plotting to overthrow Clu'?"

Dyson furrowed his eyebrows. "I don't know the answer to that question, Commander Paige. We don't have many solid facts. There are currently some soldiers that are investigating this topic. Pavel's in charge of handling this… Loner program. Did you hear about her?"

Paige nodded. "Oh yeah. I've heard about those devastating messages and **lies** that she's trying to spread around Argon. Let's see to it that she's stopped." Paige was getting really good at playing along with this sort of stuff and diverting suspicion away from her.

What worried Paige though is how long until Dyson and Clu started to suspect Paige of being a traitor. That meant that her time is very limited. So she should make the most of it. But at the same time, be careful.

She straightened up. "So what's **my** assignment?"

Dyson frowned. "Nothing different. You'll continue dealing with the Renegade whenever he's out and causing trouble."

Paige decided not to question and straightened up. "Is that all?"

Dyson curtly nodded. "Yes, that is all. You are dismissed."

Paige kept a straight face as she turned and left the room.

_Well… time to suit up and get back to business. Well, as long as the Renegade's not causing trouble._ Paige smirked. Once she somehow made it out of this labyrinth on hallways, she'll finally be able to get back to trying to destroy Clu.

The sooner the programs of Argon figured out who Clu really was, the sooner Argon would be free. But that also meant that she'd likely be captured soon as well.

Paige frowned and began to wonder if it was worth getting caught, tortured, and killed for doing something so… what did that mysterious program say? Twisted? Paige pursed her lips. It was in her programming to do what she believed was right. This also included saving innocent lives. She eventually decided that it was worth the risk, even if it meant that she died.

Feeling enlightened that she knew what to do; Paige decided to pull her stupid scams until she was defeated. (Which she hoped wouldn't be too soon) Now all Paige had to do was to get out of this stupid maze. _Where's the stupid exit? It has to be somewhere close… I hope._

…

Sky was too busy getting the innocent program to the docks, out of reach of his attackers. There's no way that Sky would be able to interfere with Alpha's revenge. She was alone with Gage and his companion.

Alpha bared her perfect white teeth in pure hatred for Gage. Her few circuitry of neon green lights glowed brightly. _Good thing I'm not wearing my emblem._ The program that's responsible for her boyfriend's death is standing only a few yards away. All she had to do was draw her disk and her lost love would finally be avenged.

Alpha wanted this program to understand how much she's suffered all of these cycles without her lost love. This program deserved to know the pain that she went through. He'll finally know and understand her pain.

Gage smirked when he realized that he was being challenged. Perl laughed wickedly as she activated her disk. "Two against one. Those odds don't seem to be in your favor, program."

Alpha frowned. That girl obviously had no idea who she **really** was. Because if she did, she'd be backing away like a coward. "You have no idea who you're talking to, **program**." Alpha hung on the last word, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

Gage's smirk grew bigger. "Oh, and who are we dealing with, then?"

It was Alpha's turn to smirk. "I'm your **worst** nightmare!" Gage narrowed his eyes. Alpha dissolved into the darkness just like Evelyn taught her. They were both good at blending in with their surroundings.

Perl and Gage looked around in confusion, trying to find out where she was. Alpha focused on Gage. Right now, he was her main target, but his companion was a distraction. Alpha grabbed Perl from behind and pulled her into darkness.

Alpha could barely contain her laughter at Perl's desperate flailing before she got knocked out. Now her target was scared for sure. "Perl? Perl?! Where are you?!" Alpha narrowed her eyes at him.

She wouldn't do the exact same thing that Gage did to her. That would make Alpha no better than he was. But that didn't change anything. She was going to make Gage understand her suffering, what she's been through for so many long cycles.

Alpha redrew her disk and activated it, the hum of the disk giving away her position. Gage didn't have enough time to react before Alpha thrashed out at him. Her disk cut across his arm.

Gage groaned and clutched his injury. He looked back up at her as he backed away. "How ironic… that a medic program would cause a program to hurt and suffer and cause injuries instead of repairing them."

His comment angered Alpha even more. "You don't deserve normal treatment! You've caused too much pain, too much suffering for too many programs! You deserve nothing more than to feel the pain that you've inflicted upon your victims!" Her words were cold and they stung, but they were all true, nonetheless.

Gage backed up until his back met the wall. His eyes widened in fear with the realization that he was trapped and Alpha had her disk raised back behind her head, ready to strike.

Quickly thinking, Gage searched around for his disk… but he couldn't find it. Where did it go? Alpha raised her left hand, it held Gage's disk. His jaw dropped open, wondering how his disk found its way into her sneaky, feminine hand.

Alpha held it teasingly in the air for a few moments. "I was defenseless when you attacked me. Consider this as the beginning of getting even!"

Alpha tossed Gage's disk to the side and slowly walked towards him. She threw a punch, which Gage dodged. She swung her disk again in his direction, hitting mark on his chest. He screamed in pain and fell to his knees.

Alpha stood over him, breathing evenly. She wasn't exactly enjoying the fact that she was causing his suffering, but she was only being fair. She wasn't doing this randomly. The moment that she saw Gage, she planned it all out.

Her actions were calculated. She'll know if she's gone too far. Right now, she's only causing enough pain for him to get a small taste of all of the various things that he's done to other innocent programs.

Even though fear showed in his eyes, Gage didn't beg for mercy or for her to spare his life. (Alpha didn't expect him to) She didn't plan on killing him now, she just wanted to show him what suffering **really** felt like.

She raised her disk to deliver a blow to his leg when she heard a faint zipping sound. She pressed her lips together and ignored it. She almost was able to strike him again before a hand clamped down on her shoulder firmly. It was Sky. He was back already.

Gage fainted because of the fright of his situation, weakness from his injuries, and confusion of what's going on.

"What are you doing?!" He asked in a sharp whisper, his voice was disguised by his mask. Sky didn't mention her name. If he did, word would spread quickly about the attack. That's also why Alpha isn't dressed in her Resistance Movement uniform.

Alpha let out a low growl. "You don't understand my motivations to do this. So get out of my way!" Sky tightened his grip. _Sheesh! You're stronger than I could've even imagined! Loosen your grip or I'm going to lose my shoulder!_

Alpha wasn't sure if Sky recognized his own strength. She doubted that he was aware that he was gripping her way too hard. She eventually docked her disk and turned away from her target. She can't do anything now anyways because he's not conscious.

Alpha growled in frustration with him once he released her arm. "What?!" She asked, completely fed up with his constant involvements with her. Sky simply grabbed her upper arm and pulled her towards the rope that was dangling from the rooftop.

"We'll talk about this once we get back to the apartment!" Sky's voice sounded like a mixture of frustration, confusion, and serious concern. Once they reached the top, he quickly put away the equipment, keeping a close eye on Alpha to make sure that she didn't do anything stupid.

When he was finished, he stood up and grabbed her arm again. Sky's grip wasn't too tight, but it was firm enough to not let her out of his grasp. Alpha just relaxed and followed willingly. Trying to pull out of his grip was futile. She wasn't going anywhere besides the apartment.

…

Alpha and Sky reached their apartment in no time. He opened the door and walked inside with Alpha. She plopped down onto the chair as Sky locked the door to make sure that there would be no intrusion in their conversation. Things were really going to get serious.

Sky took off his mask and they both sat in silence for a while. Eventually, Sky managed to break the silence. "Geez, Alpha. You'd better have several good reasons for doing something like that to that program. Or I'm going to have to report your behavior to Chad."

Alpha stiffened. If she was reported to Chad, she'll be in the mental recovery sector before Alpha could say: No. Chad already knew that Alpha had some mental problems, but he didn't know specifically what the problems were all about.

Alpha knew the reasons for her problems, but she refused to tell anyone. Of course they would all understand and she might be able to avoid the mental hospital, but Alpha didn't want programs to show her pity or sympathy. She already had problems of proving her capabilities.

Alpha decided to partially explain her reasons, but they'll be vague. "Fine, then listen carefully. That program whom I attacked is the leader of a gang."

Sky frowned. "I don't really see how that's-"

Alpha cut him off. "I'm not finished yet." Sky clamped his jaw shut. "That gang leader has caused lots of suffering and he's killed hundreds of innocent programs. Now, I have habits of being fair and making things even. Since he's caused suffering in the past, I showed him what suffering feels like. I'm done now."

Sky narrowed his eyes. "So, that was just a 'one-time-thing'?" Alpha nodded. She turned and walked back towards the door. "Hey, where are you going now? You should be out after what happened back there."

Alpha turned her head towards him. "Don't worry, I already told you that I'm done with that program. I won't go near or touch him with my disk… or bare hands again."

Sky frowned. "I know that I can't technically stop you, so I want your word on the matter. Promise me that you won't do anything like that again."

Alpha thought about it for a moment. She'd already decided to leave Gage alone. There weren't any other programs out there that she had a problem with besides the occupation. "I promise." Alpha answered sincerely. Then she opened the door. "I won't be gone long. I'm just going for a walk… alone."

Sky frowned. "Be careful." He said just before she closed the door.

Alpha stood there for a moment outside the closed door. "Don't worry, I will." Then she started walking. It was time that she reflected on what happened so she could make theories and possible decisions for the future.

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**Well, we've come to the end of another chapter. Clearly, you've all seen that Alpha's completely mad. If you have any questions, PM me or leave it in the review box. I'll update the next chapter as soon as possible. Please review and tell me your opinion on this chapter. By the way, I left another character Bios on my profile page for Ally go ahead and check it out. So far I've typed about Alpha and Ally, I'll do more soon. TRON LIVES! Toodles! XD**


	48. Chapter 47

**So sorry that it took this long to update. I'm a despicable writer. But hopefully, I can make it up to you for such a late update by adding a couple more flashbacks of Beck's past with Ally in the next few chapters. :D Enjoy!**

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**Chapter 47**

Beck returned back to his dormitory at the garage. He couldn't shake the fact that The Loner seemed so familiar to him. It probably wasn't something to even think too hard about though. Tron already told him that The Loner probably wouldn't make an easy ally to the uprising.

Beck just sighed and plopped down onto his bed. There wasn't much he could do about it right now. He might as well get some rest… hopefully he won't scream from his nightmares and wake everyone up again. Maybe Beck was feeling a little traumatized from all the incidents that happened to him. What was it called? Shell shocked? Post-traumatic stress disorder?

He dropped the thought. Beck needed some rest. The cycles seemed endless, and when they did end, Beck could hardly stand up without help. Nonetheless, he managed to get around on his own and he preferred to keep it that way. But life was exhausting.

Beck layed down and closed his eyes. Before he knew it, he was asleep. Beck was dreaming, but he was remembering his past again. Of course, he was remembering another night out with Ally.

"So… where exactly are we going?" Beck questioned. Ally and Beck were walking through dark alleyways of the City. These places were known as 'The Dark Spots'.

Ally shrugged. "I don't know. We're just going for a walk, right? Why shouldn't we explore the unknown?"

Beck sighed in slight irritation. "Because these parts of the City are well-known for programs getting terrorized, beaten, raped, and much more."

Ally pressed her lips together. "Well, were those programs alone? Without company?" Beck sighed in defeat. It's true that all those programs were always by themselves. Ally nodded in clarification. "Mmhm. The odds of getting attacked when you're not alone are very slim, but not impossible. Keep that in mind. Besides, I have a natural curiosity sometimes… don't you?"

Beck thought for a moment and bit his lip. "I'm kind of stuck on that question. I'm definitely not curious about dangerous stuff or things that I don't know much about… unless it somehow involves me."

Ally smirked. "Well, you're involved right now. Why don't we take advantage of that?"

Beck frowned slightly. "Along with being naturally curious, are you by chance a natural at causing destruction, chaos, and disturbances?"

Ally started laughing. "I thought you knew me better than that! I don't cause negative action and trouble on purpose. I just sometimes have a natural curiosity and I like to have fun. I'm a thrill seeker!"

Beck rolled his eyes and smiled. "If it's not that obvious already." Ally laughed again and elbowed him in the side. "Owww."

Ally smirked. "See? You really **do** know me! Besides, what's the worst that could possible happen?"

"Oh, I don't know… perhaps getting punished for trespassing into places that you don't even know." A mysterious voice echoed through the shadows.

Ally frowned. "Hello?" She called out.

Beck's eyes widened and gripped Ally's upper arm, beginning to pull her towards him. "Ally, we need to get out of here. We're about to be confronted."

Ally pursed her lips and nodded. As they started to back away, a few programs stepped out from the shadows from behind them. Others emerged in front of them.

"This isn't good." Beck whispered. Ally nodded in agreement. They were both grabbed from behind by the programs and held in place.

Beck pressed his lips together and scowled. Ally struggled or at least, **pretended** to struggle. Beck noticed that she was only using a fraction of her strength. _What is she trying to do?_ Beck wondered.

"Where are you two going?" An eerily quiet, deep voice came from one of the programs who stood in front of them. He had no mask on, and he looked very amused at Ally's struggle attempt.

Ally stopped struggling for a moment and turned her head towards him. "Uh, sorry… my friend and I must've taken a wrong turn."

The gang leader smirked and brushed a strand of hair out of her face. "It's okay, I'm sure that we can come to some sort of **understanding**."

Beck felt sudden rage build up inside of him. He didn't like it when another male program came in physical contact with his girlfriend. It wasn't from 'she's mine' kind of feelings; it was because he knew that Ally was very agitated.

Ally narrowed her eyes at him and pressed her lips together. "Judging by the tone of your voice and the careful selection of your words, I'm very sure that **one** of us will not like the idea of **understanding**. Besides, I wasn't looking for understanding, I was just asking for my boyfriend and me to be released."

The gang leader started laughing. "Ha ha, you… you really expect me to just let you and your… **friend** go." Beck frowned at him.

Ally straightened up. "Well, I was hoping that you would actually **understand** that, yes."

He chuckled and turned away. "Ladies nowadays," He looked at Beck. "How can you tolerate her?"

Beck smirked. "Well, if you're not able to tolerate such a charming young lady like her, then you're clearly not a decent guy."

The program suddenly glared and stepped away from Ally, walking towards Beck. He drew his disk and held it up against Beck's neck. "How DARE you! Do you have any idea **who** you're dealing with?!"

Beck smirked, despite his situation. "The question is: Do YOU know who you're dealing with?"

The program frowned, trying to understand what Beck had asked. He gasped. "You!" At first, he looked shocked and afraid. And by the looks of it, Beck was intimidating this guy. But after that, he smirked and chuckled. "Oh, yeah. I remember you. How could I possibly forget?" He drew his disk and activated it. "And this time, I'll make sure that you stay down."

Ally suddenly wrenched her right arm out of one of the program's grip and punched him in stomach. Then she elbowed the other program who held her left arm. The leader turned and glanced at Ally. The rest of the gang was trying to get her back under control, but they only ended up on the ground.

Beck took advantage of the distraction that Ally caused, and got free by doing the same thing that Ally did. Beck punched the gang leader in the face and kicked another program who tried to attack him from behind.

Beck turned and looked at Ally, who seemed to have no trouble with fighting. She was actually handling herself very well. She kicked a guy in the torso and sent him flying back into a wall. He hit it hard and landed upside down.

Beck raised his eyebrows in surprise. He honestly had no idea that Ally was that strong and that skilled with fighting. She wasn't even getting tired.

She really had those programs fooled when she **pretended** to struggle. Right now, she was kicking their butts! Beck was too distracted, watching Ally in awe that he didn't notice the gang leader walking up behind him.

He grabbed Beck and put him in a headlock, holding his disk close to Beck's neck. "I'll do you for this!" He yelled. Before striking, he looked around. There was no other program in sight. And it was quiet, a little too quiet…

Ally stepped out of the shadows from behind Beck and the program that was now looking around frantically. He quickly turned around, but Ally moved when he moved, and stayed out of his field of vision.

"Show yourself, you coward!" The program shouted. Ally slowly, quietly walked up to him from behind. She rested her hand on his right shoulder.

"Here I am." She whispered. Her hand squeezed a place on his shoulder and he groaned, falling to the ground, unconscious.

Beck stared at the still figure, then he looked back at Ally. "How… how did you do that?"

Ally stared at the body for a moment too, and shrugged. "I don't know."

Beck frowned and glanced back at the body, putting his disk away. "Well… whatever you did, that was amazing and it totally worked!" Ally smirked and folded her arms. Beck grinned and looked around again. "How about we turn and walk away now before these guys wake up and we do this drill all over again."

Ally nodded. "Agreed." Beck wrapped his right arm around Ally and they walked out of the alley.

Beck leaned in close to her ear and whispered. "You have got to teach me that sometime."

Ally stopped and smirked at Beck. "Okay." She gently grabbed Beck's wrist and held it on her shoulder. "Usually, the pressure points vary on the program's gender and build."

Beck nodded. "Okay,"

Ally continued. "For a female my size. The pressure point would be right… here." She moved Beck's hand over to the place on her shoulder. "If you squeeze hard enough I would fall over, unconscious. Don't squeeze me though."

She moved Beck's hand over to his shoulder. "Your sensitive spot would be located right here." She moved Beck's hand over to the spot. "Do you feel that?" Beck nodded. He could feel his entire shoulder go numb, and it was spreading throughout his body, everything gradually shutting down. He was starting to feel tired.

Ally removed her hand from his and dropped it down to her side. "I'm sure you felt that. That's what it feels like when you hit that pressure point. But that program back there experienced it in a more… sped up motion."

Beck nodded and rubbed his shoulder. "That's a cool trick. I've got to try that sometime." Ally giggled and started walking again.

"Just don't do it on me, Beck." Beck smiled and followed her out of the dark alley.

Beck opened up his eyes and frowned. Sleeping time's over. It was probably past curfew now, and he was going to cause distractions and rescue programs that were caught. You know, the usual.

Beck got off the bed and walked over to his door, quietly opening it and slipping outside. As he made his way to his locker, he looked around carefully to make sure that he wasn't being watched or followed. It wasn't like it was likely of that, it was just better to be safe instead of sorry.

Beck opened up his locker and took out the white half-disk. As he walked out of the garage, he connected his identity disk with the white half, and placed his disk back into its holder.

The suit expanded all over his body until he was completely covered and put on his mask. As Beck broke into a run, he pulled out his baton and rezzed his lightbike.

Time to cause trouble and hopefully, Beck won't get caught.

…

Paige was exhausted, but she had fun. After she finally got out of that stupid maze of unknown hallways, she spent quite a lot of time on the rooftops of Purgos, synching her bombs to her handheld detonator. Once all of the bombs were in place, she pressed the button, and let the magic happen.

In her opinion, this was by far, the most brilliant thing that she's ever thought of. All of the bombs detonated, and each letter that was part of the phrase: 'Clu Lies', was written on an entire rooftop. Of course it could only be seen well from the air.

But that stunt wasn't even the most amazing part. Each and every letter that was part of the two words, were made up the words itself: 'Clu Lies'. Those two words were patterned in a calculated way to form a single letter on each rooftop that made up the phrase.

Once Pavel arrived at the scene, He. Was. Shocked. And he was very angry. "That program will brought to justice, and she will pay for what she's done here this cycle!" Paige smirked and rolled her eyes. He was just jealous that he'll never be able to come up with something that brilliant.

Paige stood up and climbed down from the rooftop that she was on. It was kind of annoying that she had to keep going back to check in with the Occupation every single time that she caused trouble, but she really didn't have much of a choice.

Paige changed back into her Occupation uniform and started walking back to the base. Paige took a watch out of her pocket and attached it to her left wrist. It was given to her so she'd be notified on time if the Renegade did something that required her attention.

As she neared the base, it started flashing and beeping. Paige looked at it and pressed a button. A small map showed up and a small red dot flashed on the map. Another dot, a blue one, showed Paige's location. And a yellow one showed where the base was.

Paige pulled out her baton and rezzed her bike, heading to the location where the red one was. It appeared that the Renegade was in Argon Square.

…

Beck typed in the last letter into the holographic keyboard and stood up, watching the magic happen. Every single screen in Argon Square spelled out the neat letters: 'Tron Lives' Beck touched up the design by adding Tron's emblem below the glowing letters.

Beck had to admit that it was both beautiful, but it would get him into trouble. Though no one was around to see it, except guards because it was after curfew. Luckily, Beck knew that it would make an excellent distraction to let the late programs get away.

He had managed to break into three recognizers and free the prisoners and got away, unharmed. This distraction would help them get away as well.

Beck turned around and jumped off of the ledge that he was standing on. He pulled out his baton and got ready to rez it, when a single orange disk came flying out of nowhere. Beck held his baton in the air to keep the disk from hitting him, which resulted with the disk cutting his baton cleanly in half.

The disk returned to a hand, Paige's. She looked at the Renegade and smirked. "That's a real piece of work that you've displayed in the square. I didn't realize that you were an artist."

Beck shrugged. "Nope, I'm just good at typing… and copying and pasting images."

Paige held up her disk, ready to throw again. "That's lame."

Beck tossed his broken baton away. "I know." Then Beck turned and ran. Paige chased after him. Paige was getting more used to running, but she was now less familiar with chasing programs.

Beck turned a corner and headed for the docks. Paige, of course, followed. They ran on top of the crates, Beck, trying to get away from Paige, whom was chasing him all over the place.

As Beck kept running, he thought of an escape. It was crazy, but Paige would have to be crazy to follow him. Beck turned sharply and dove headlong into the sea. Paige stopped at the edge and stared in disbelief. _Did he just do what I think he did?_

Beck resurfaced in the water and looked up. Paige was still standing there, staring. Beck smirked and went back under the water. He didn't want Paige to see him when he was swimming towards the ladder. Beck hauled himself back onto the docks and looked at Paige, who turned and walked away.

He chuckled. "Paige, she knows I got away." Beck stood up and walked back to the garage, which took a while since Paige destroyed his lightcycle baton. _A taste of my own medicine._ Beck thought to himself as he neared the garage. Beck smirked and shook his head. _I should've given Paige a ride back into the City after we dealt with Cyrus. __**Now**__ I pay the price!_

…

Paige was on her way back to the base. _What was the Renegade thinking?! He's a stupid head! That move could've killed him, yet he did it anyway! What was going through his head?_

While Paige was deep in thought, she didn't notice that she stepped on a button lying in the middle of the road. A bomb detonated and Paige was literally blown to the other side of the street. She hit her head on a building on the other side of the road and crumpled to the ground.

A dark figure stood above her as her eyesight went dark. Though she couldn't see him, she could just hear him. Before she blacked out, the program chuckled. "How predictable." Then, Paige passed out.

…

Ally kept walking down the street. She bit her lip. Right now, she felt nothing. No emotion, no pain, and no determination. She. Was. Nothing.

She felt no regret for what she did to Gage, he deserved that. Alpha stopped and looked around. She was so deep in thought, she didn't pay attention to her surroundings. Now she had no idea where she was.

Alpha looked down at her suit. She was wearing her stealth outfit. It was a black jumpsuit that had very little neon green circuits, a mask, heels, and wore gloves that completely covered her hands. Basically, she flashed no skin.

She carefully scanned her surroundings. She was inside a small, narrow street. Buildings surrounded her, but one of them was burnt. She squinted and stepped closer to it, placing her hand on the scorched walls. Judging by its current condition, it most likely went up in flames about a good two or three cycles ago.

Alpha heard static and a faint buzzing noise. She whirled around, disk in hand and ready to face whatever was coming. She lowered her disk and deactivated it when she saw a screen pop up and played a prerecorded message.

She glared when she saw Cyrus on the screen. He was grinning. Alpha faked a laugh. "Well, I should've known that you'd be responsible for this!"

Cyrus chuckled. "I'm right behind you." He said in a teasing voice. Alpha turned around and reactivated her disk. Cyrus laughed manically. "I'm not really behind you. It's the building that's behind you, idiot!" The screen disappeared.

Alpha turned around and faced the building that was behind her. She bared her teeth. _What does Cyrus have planned now?_ Gripping her disk so tight that it started digging into her palm, she stalked over to the building and pressed herself right next to the doorframe.

She reached over and tried pressing the button that opens the door. It was unlocked, allowing the door to open noiselessly. Alpha leaned closer and turned her head just enough to see inside. It was quiet and empty.

She quickly ran inside and pressed herself beside another doorway. She deactivated her disk and held her head up against the wall, listening for any kind of sound. A footstep, vocal noise, breathing, any sign that there was someone inside. She heard nothing.

Alpha slowly stepped into range of the sensors and the door slid open. Behind the door was a staircase, leading down to an underground chamber. Now she was hearing something. She strained her ears and listened in. _Two people breathing… one set of rhythmic footsteps…_ Alpha listened to the breathing. _One is slower and more rhythmic… another is… slightly faster._

She narrowed her eyes. If Cyrus was down there, he most likely has an unconscious captive. Alpha quietly made her way down the staircase and devised a quick, efficient plan. Alpha reactivated her disk and reached the last set of steps. Cyrus was dead to her.

* * *

**Yeah, that wasn't much considering that I didn't update for like...ten days? That's horrible, but on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, I was remodeling my Grandparents' kitchen. (That wasn't fun) and for the other seven days, I was busy taking care of my little Bro and working on school and chores at home. (Studying for Finals) I've only three more days of school! XD I'll try to update soon. (No promises) I'll have plenty of writing time in the Summer too! TRON LIVES! Toodles! XD**


	49. Chapter 48

**Okay, I'm glad that I finally updated! Again, I'm so sorry it took me so long to update. I have to work on typing faster like I used to. But I prefer to update longer chapters with everyone's point of view in them. School's finally over for me! I'm very happy! So I'll have much more freedom time to work on my chapters! :D Some dots in this current chapter will be connected and there will be some Dramatic and Situational Irony throughout this book in future chapters. I'm happy to write for all of you! :) And so far, this is by far, the longest chapter I've ever written! I'm so happy that I accomplished that! :D So, here you go. Enjoy! :)**

* * *

**Chapter 48**

Beck was never going to get back to the garage if he kept taking his current route. He turned and walked into a different alley. As a rule, when you're the Renegade, you need to know all the streets of Argon like the back of your hand.

He decided that it would be faster to get back to the garage by jumping rooftops. It was risky, considering that he could easily be seen and chased again by Paige again. His white suit dimmed slightly from the confusion and the internal battle whether he should building hop or not. He decided to building hop.

As Beck walked over to the closest building, he heard something. No… it was someone. It was alone… and running. Beck spun around, disk in hand and ready for another fight. He stopped and stood there when he realized who was confronting him.

The Librarian ran over to him and stopped. "I don't suppose you know where Alpha is, do you?"

Beck shook his head. "Um… no, I don't." She sighed in frustration. Beck quickly spoke up. "But if I see her, I'll let her know that you're looking for her."

The Librarian shook her head. "It's okay. Although she'd make a preferable ally for what I'm going to do, you'll be fine too."

Beck raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about?"

"Oh, right. I suppose you should be involved in this anyway. How do I word this? Um… Cyrus kidnapped Paige."

Beck frowned. "I know he kidnapped Paige. I rescued her just three cycles ago."

The Librarian shook her head. "No, not that time. I'm saying that Cyrus took her again, just a few nanos ago."

Beck's jaw dropped open. "Well… do you know where they are?"

The Librarian shrugged. "No, but if you know where Cyrus was last time, he's most likely going to be there again."

Beck though back. _Where were they when I rescued Paige?_ He finally remembered. "Um, they were in some sort of apartment building."

The Librarian face palmed her mask. "Really? An apartment building? You'd think he'd hold her captive in his own prison."

Beck rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah… about that. It's… kinda ruined now."

"What?!"

Beck held his hands up. "Sorry! I didn't realize that it's always **my** fault for the stuff that gets destroyed!" Beck retorted sarcastically.

The Librarian sighed in frustration. "You know what, never mind! Forget that I commented on anything! You need to focus on rescuing Paige and I'm going to focus on dealing with Cyrus. Okay?"

She held out her hand to shake. Beck stared at it. _Is she seriously making a temporary alliance?_ Even though it was just a handshake, he knew that The Librarian was known to not have any sort of friends or allies. Beck cleared his throat. "Um, are you shaking on an alliance, or are you just giving me a friendly hello?"

She sighed and lowered her hand. "You're hopeless! Figure that out on your own! Let's just get out of here and go beat up Cyrus! I really want to give him a piece of my mind for doing all those terrible things!"

Beck frowned under his mask. "But he never did anything to you… as far as you told me."

She turned her head towards him. "No, he never did anything to me, but that doesn't mean that I don't care about innocent lives! Now are you coming or not?!" She pulled out her baton and rezzed her bike. She also tossed him a baton.

Beck sighed. "Yeah, yeah I'm coming… hold on." He rezzed the bike she gave him and climbed on. The Librarian took off on her bike with Beck following close behind.

…

Paige slowly opened her eyes to see the dark figure who she expected to see. "Having fun?" She inquired with a sour face.

Cyrus turned around and smirked. "The game hasn't started yet."

"Oh, not yet? Well it has now! So you'd better prepare for the worst, because it's heading straight for you!" Paige looked behind her shoulder to see a medic program in heels, gloves, neon green circuits, and an 'A' emblem. She gasped. _It's the Alpha!_

Cyrus smirked. "Well, long time no see…" Cyrus's voice was full of sarcasm. Paige narrowed her eyes in confusion. _Wait… he knows Alpha?_

Alpha clenched her fists, glancing from Paige back to Cyrus. "I highly recommend that you free the commander before I free her for you!"

Cyrus smile grew wider. "Oooh, why don't you come and do that then?" Paige wasn't fooled though. She could see that Cyrus was hiding something. _Fear? Nervousness?_

Alpha took a step forward, somehow making Cyrus take a step back. Paige's jaw dropped open and she stared. _Is… is Cyrus actually __**afraid**__ of Alpha?_ Cyrus glared at Alpha, clearly showing hatred for her. "Come closer… I **dare** you…"

It all became clear. Cyrus was definitely afraid of Alpha, but he must have some trick up his sleeve. Because his smirk was real.

Alpha crossed her arms. "You really think I'm that stupid?" Cyrus was about to retort something when Alpha drew and activated her disk and charged over to Paige. Cyrus's smirk quickly faded into a look of panic. He obviously didn't see this coming. He drew his disk and slowly walked over to the two programs.

After Alpha finished cutting away the last of Paige's bonds, she helped up the confused commander. "Get out of here. This is about to get ugly."

Paige arched her eyebrows in concern. "Are you sure?"

Alpha glanced behind her shoulder to see Cyrus getting closer. "Yes I'm sure, now get out of here!" Paige curtly nodded and ran up the staircase.

Cyrus tried to follow Paige, but Alpha stood in the way. Cyrus moved to one side, Alpha stepped right in front of him.

He glared down at Alpha and activated his disk. "You just stole my bait."

Alpha crossed her arms. "No, I took the bait and let it go."

Cyrus stepped closer to her. "It wasn't meant for you…"

Alpha was confused. "I know it wasn't for me! But… who was it for?"

Cyrus sneered at her. "It doesn't matter now. You'll end up dead anyways."

Alpha reactivated her disk. She smirked. "If that's a challenge, then I accept."

This time, Cyrus smirked as he made the first move.

…

"There!" Beck pointed a finger towards the building where Cyrus hid in last time he kidnapped Paige. They both pulled the breaks on their bikes and stopped. But The Librarian wasn't looking at the building that Beck pointed to. She was looking at the burnt building.

"Oh my gosh… did Cyrus do this?"

Beck rubbed the back of his neck and shrugged. "I'm not entirely sure, but yes, I think he did."

She sighed in disappointment. "I guess it should have been that obvious. Now I'm certain that he's past help. Nothing can be done to fix this."

Beck shifted uncomfortably. "Um… are we just going to examine this scorched building or are we going to fight Cyrus?"

The Librarian nodded and got up. "Right… let's go."

Beck crept up to the entrance and pressed up beside the wall, listening for any kind of sound. He heard… footsteps and they were getting closer. Beck quickly drew his disk and kicked the door open. He tackled the program that was inside and held his disk very close to her throat. It was Paige. She closed her eyes and preparing for the end.

Beck gasped and quickly got off of her. "Sorry, Paige. I thought you were Cyrus for a moment." He laughed nervously and helped her up. The Librarian face palmed her mask and sighed in irritation.

Paige narrowed her eyes. "How did you even know that I was in danger?"

In answer, Beck pointed at The Librarian. "She found me."

Paige nodded slowly. "Oh."

Beck gently nudged Paige in the back, pushing her away from the building. "Mission accomplished! We're done here right?"

The Librarian shrugged. "**You** are done here. I came here to get Cyrus."

Paige stopped and looked at her. "Someone's saving you the trouble."

She stopped walking toward the basement and glanced back at Paige. "What are you talking about?"

Paige bit her lip. "Um… The Alpha's inside in the basement… kicking Cyrus's ass."

The Librarian turned towards Paige fully. "Wait… **what**? I'm sorry, but I could've sworn that you said that Alpha's downstairs… kicking Cyrus's ass…"

Paige nodded. "She is! And Cyrus almost seemed… **afraid** of her."

"And for good reason!" The Librarian almost seemed to be panicking now.

"What?!" Beck and Paige said in sync. Paige looked at Beck's masked face and scowled. "Don't do that again!"

The Librarian was already descending the stairs leading to the basement. Beck turned towards Paige. "You should get out of here." Paige nodded and ran out of the building. Beck quickly turned and followed The Librarian down the stairs.

The sound of fighting was getting louder and more ferocious. The Librarian had already reached the bottom and stood there, staring at what layed before her. Then Beck heard a muffled, disguised voice call out. "Oh, hello Evie! Have you come to assist me?"

Beck reached the bottom of the stairs and stood next to The Librarian in confusion. "Who's Evie?"

…

Alpha dodged a punch that Cyrus threw at her. She'd told Paige to leave before she had to see anything disturbing. Cyrus tried to punch her again, but she ducked out of the way and elbowed him in the back.

She wasn't going to paralyze him, otherwise it wouldn't be a fair fight. This wasn't a hit-and-run fight like she usually does. She wanted to finish Cyrus off and the only way to do that properly was to keep the fight fair.

Cyrus glared at Alpha, trying to catch his breath because she was tiring him out very quickly. Alpha just stood there, watching him. She wasn't even tired or panting like he was.

Suddenly, Cyrus straightened up and smiled. "I just recalled that I met your old boyfriend just a few cycles ago…"

Alpha lowered her fist. "What?..."

Cyrus's smile grew wider as he finally discovered a weak point. Because he saw Beck's disk, he only had to put two and two together to figure out everything that was going on. "Yes, he's a very… **faithful** and **trusting** program. Too bad that's what leads to someone's **demise**."

Alpha was visibly faltering. "You didn't do that…"

Cyrus chuckled. "**I** didn't, darling. I just let the cycle go by and let everything go naturally. Unfortunately… things don't always go well for him, does it?" Cyrus wasn't technically lying, he was just leaving out major details of what he was talking about, and making Alpha believe that he was dead. That way, she'd be hurt more and would make her more vulnerable.

Alpha tightened her fists, visibly preparing to launch herself at Cyrus. "You're lying! She shouted as she jumped at him to bury her fist in his face. It was too predictable.

Cyrus sidestepped out of the way and let her hit the wall. She started to crumple to the ground, but Cyrus pressed his forearm against her neck and pinned her to the wall. He smirked and leaned closer to her and whispered: "How predictable…"

Alpha glared at him from under her mask and lifted her right arm to make another attempt to punch him. Cyrus caught her arm with his other hand and pinned it to the wall as well. "You've always had a problem when someone talks about relationships and love, don't you?"

Alpha gritted her teeth. "Well you don't see to be bothered about breaking up with Evelyn, do you?" Cyrus narrowed his eyes. Alpha smirked when she realized that she'd really poked a sore spot on him. "Well, do you?"

Cyrus smirked again when he leaned in closer to her again. "Don't worry, I put that all behind me. I gave that up so I wouldn't have any distractions. I'm going to give everyone a **free** future!"

Alpha was disgusted by his delusions. "You won't **free** anyone, everybody would be **dead**!"

Cyrus pulled away from her, frowning again. "I'd prefer to think of it more as: ending suffering and violence."

Alpha rolled her eyes. "Of course you would. Because it's much easier to do that when you're not thinking about killing everyone on the grid."

Cyrus got angry. He grabbed her shoulders and pulled her away from the wall and pushed her to the floor. "You'll **never** truly understand the meaning of **freedom** if you keep twisting my words like that!"

Alpha glared at him and spoke in a small, quiet voice. "I'm not twisting your words, I'm simply saying what's eventually going to happen to everyone and everything."

Her words hadn't helped any. Cyrus drew his disk and held it close to her throat. She started writhing and trying to twist out of his grasp. Cyrus chuckled as he found her struggle very amusing. Then an idea occurred to him.

He put his disk away and climbed on top of her. Alpha saw her opportunity after Cyrus put away his disk. She raised her right hand to reach for her own, but Cyrus caught her wrists and pinned them down. Now she was in trouble.

She gasped and started squirming. Cyrus smirked and leaned in closer to her. "Don't act like you can do more than you really can, especially around me, because I can overpower you any cycle."

Cyrus pinned her hands above her head with one hand while his other moved to try and remove her mask. Alpha's eyes widened in fear. Locking her mask on her head was a good way to hide her face from ordinary programs, but Cyrus wasn't ordinary. He'd definitely be able to remove her helmet like there's nothing to it.

Alpha then heard… footfall. Someone was coming down the stairs. _Did Paige get help or something?_ A realization hit her. She groaned and went limp. _I bet she went and got Clu's forces._ A lone, dark figure appeared at the bottom of the stairs.

Alpha looked up and sighed with relief. Using her sweetest voice, she spoke up. "Oh, hello Evie. Have you come to assist me?"

The Renegade also appeared at the bottom of the stairs. "Who's Evie?" He asked.

Cyrus looked up at him and started laughing. "Are you kidding me? You don't know who Evelyn is? You're stupid as the cycle is long!"

Alpha remained silent. She didn't realize that the Renegade was also here. She practically just revealed to him that The Librarian's real name is Evelyn. _I am such an idiot! Why didn't I realize that Evelyn wouldn't come here alone?!_

The Renegade glanced over at Alpha, who was still pinned to the ground by Cyrus. "That's Alpha? I thought Paige said that she was kicking Cyrus's ass."

Alpha turned her head and looked at him. "Shut your face! I **was** kicking his ass for a while! Until Cyrus juked me out!" She stole a glance at Cyrus. "And now he's on top of me!" She looked back at Evelyn. "I could really use some help here, you know, if you're not too busy!"

The Librarian drew her disk. "Yeah, yeah, I'll get to you eventually… right now, I'm going to knock some sense into a dangerous sociopath who had a long history of violence." She smirked under her mask. "And there's about to be more…"

Evelyn threw her disk at Cyrus, forcing him to jump off of Alpha. Beck ran over and helped her back onto her feet. "You okay?" He asked.

Alpha shook him off and drew her disk. "Yeah, I'm fine! Don't worry about me!" Alpha walked over to the staircase and sat down.

Beck raised an eyebrow. "Um, aren't we going to help her?"

"Hm?" Alpha looked back up at Beck. "Oh! Heheh, you really think that she needs help?" Beck nodded. Alpha started laughing. "Trust me, no one can match with that gal! She's unstoppable, and anyone who stands in her way will get crushed!"

Beck took a step back. "I… had no idea that she was like that. I thought that she was just a messenger and likes to hear secrets."

Alpha leaned back and folded her arms. "That's the general idea of her public appearance and the way she works. But she does have her own free personality." Beck was about to speak when she cut him off. "And I doubt that you'll **ever** get to know it."

Beck sat down next to Alpha and watched The Librarian punch Cyrus square in the nose. Beck whistled. "Cyrus doesn't find her **predictable**?"

Alpha shrugged "Well, they haven't seen each other for a long time." She scooted farther away from Beck for distance and for the sake of her self-control. She didn't want to lose it and knock him out again like she did on the train ride to Bismuth. He totally frightened her. All he really did was stumble past her, but it was enough to startle her. That's why she threw the smoke bomb and knocked him out.

Suddenly, Cyrus hit Evelyn in the stomach with his knee and made a run for it. Alpha and Beck drew their disks, but Cyrus threw a smoke bomb and shoved past them.

Alpha turned around and started running up the stairs after him. "I call dibs on chasing Cyrus! You stay back here and make sure she's okay!"

Beck looked back at the Librarian, who seemed to recover and waved him away. "Follow her and make sure she doesn't do anything stupid! I'm fine, I just got the air knocked out of me." She was panting and trying to get her air back. Beck turned and sprinted up the stairs. He heard her mutter: "I'm gonna KILL Cyrus, next time I see him…" _Okay, she's fine._

Beck couldn't help but chuckle. She seemed kind of funny whenever she was pissed off. Beck reached the top of the stairs and ran as fast as he could out of the building.

The moment he stepped outside, he saw nothing. He waited and listened for any kind of sound. He heard it. It was running. Beck chased after the sound of footfall and started catching up quickly. He turned into an alley with a dead end.

He looked around and saw a ladder. He ran over to it and climbed up. When he reached the top, he only saw Alpha standing on the edge, her fists clenched.

Beck got on top of the roof and cautiously walked over to her. "Where's Cyrus?" He asked, standing a safe distance from her.

"Let's rule out some places, shall we? Let's start with ruling out this very rooftop!" She didn't even turn around to look at him. "He's obviously gone and I don't know where he is."

Beck took a few steps closer. "It's okay, we can figure this out together. I'm sure if we work together, maybe we can-"

Alpha abruptly spun around to face him. "'We'? What 'we'? There's no 'we'. In fact, since when did I agree to work with **you** in the first place? I simply found out where Cyrus was and then I confronted him to give him a piece of my mind. Then the Librarian decides that she'll go ahead and confront Cyrus too with you at her side."

She walked up so close to Beck that her body was barely touching his. She looked up at him and spoke in a quiet voice. "Last time I checked, I **never** agreed to work with you."

Alpha turned and walked back over to the edge of the building and sat down. She clenched her fists so hard that her hands were visibly shaking. She was clearly angry. _Angry at what?_ Beck wondered. He stood behind Alpha on the rooftop for the longest time, wondering what Alpha was thinking about. "Don't you have to leave soon?" She asked with irritation. She was clearly annoyed that Beck was still there.

He eventually cleared his throat and spoke up. "You're upset about something." He blurted out. Alpha visibly flinched after he said that. He was shocked when he realized that he was right.

Beck plucked his courage to walk over and sit down next to her. Alpha flinched again and took deep, controlled breaths. Beck frowned. "What's wrong?"

Alpha straightened up and opened her mouth, but stopped herself. She really wanted to tell him everything; about her past, her feelings, and her hopes of accomplishing her goals… why she was **really** fighting in the Resistance Movement.

But she stopped before she could answer him. _Is it wise to say it?_ She bit down on her lip, hard. She knew that she'd been acting like a jerk to him ever since she saw him this cycle, but she was just trying to keep him from getting to know her.

She's been doing nothing to him but pushing him away, yet he keeps trying to help and comfort her. _Why?_ That was a question that only he could answer for her. But she had a feeling that he'd only answer her if she answered him and that wasn't an option for her. Her problems are too personal and he'd most likely **never** understand her.

She sharply turned towards him. This time he flinched. Alpha stood up and leaned over towards him. "You know what the problem is? Everything! Everything's the problem because nobody's happy, programs out there are suffering, and Clu is still in charge! You think that I don't have a problem?! Get a reality check! No one's life is perfect and it will **never** be perfect! Now go away and leave me alone!"

Beck was about to defend himself when Alpha interrupted him again with a cold, hard, and empty voice. "And don't bother to go out looking for me… unless you have a death wish!" Alpha then turned and jumped off the roof, rezzing her bike and speeding off until Beck couldn't see her anymore.

Beck sighed and face palmed his mask, hard. "Stupid! Why did I think that she'd actually be friendly and tell me what her real problems were." He thought about going out looking for her to straighten things out but he shuddered when he remembered her threat if he did.

Beck frowned. _Maybe I can seek Tron's advice on this. I'm sure Tron would know what to do._ He climbed down from the building and walked out of the alleyway.

He saw the Librarian starting to walk away. Beck ran over to her when he remembered something. The Librarian stopped and greeted him. "Oh, hello again." She glanced back at the scorched building that was once Beck, Zed, and Mara's apartment. "Does Cyrus do that all the time now?"

Beck shrugged. "I don't necessarily know. But maybe I'll ask him when I get the time."

"Can you bring me with when you do that?"

Beck grinned under his mask. "Of course! If I get the chance."

The Librarian giggled. "Good." She started to walk away, when Beck stopped her.

"Wait, Librarian!" He pulled out the baton that she loaned him to get to the apartments. "I almost forgot to give this back." He pulled out the baton that she loaned him to get to the apartments.

The Librarian shook her head and pushed it back. "It's okay. You keep it. Besides, how will you get away from Clu's forces if you have no baton?" She started walking away and then turned around.

"And don't call me that. It doesn't have a good ring to it. Just call me Evelyn." She whispered to him. "As long as you don't share that name with other programs."

She then disappeared into the shadows, leaving Beck alone. _I can't believe that she shared her own name with me._ He smirked._ And Alpha told me that she wouldn't show or tell me anything._

He turned and rezzed the bike that 'Evelyn' gave to him and headed to the hideout to figure things out with Tron's help. Hopefully, they could work out some form of strategy for the future. And maybe they can come to some terms of agreement with Alpha.

…

Alpha kept riding her bike through the city until she got back to the apartment that she shared with Sky. She pulled off her disk and switched it back to her stealth outfit. The one that was almost black with a several neon green circuits covering her body.

She walked into the apartment and greeted Sky. "Hello."

Sky looked up and smiled. "Feel refreshed?"

Alpha nodded slowly and stifled a yawn under her mask. "Yeah, and… tired." Sky stood up to help her, but she waved him away. "Don't worry, I'm fine. I can make it to bed on my own."

Alpha walked up the stairs and into her room, shutting the door quietly behind her. She turned and walked over to the bed, starting to tear the sheets and pillows off the bed and throwing them across the room, away from her. Then she layed down on the bed and closed her eyes, waiting to slide into oblivion.

A memory came to her instead.

* * *

She sat with her boyfriend on top of a high building. The view was magnificent up there, they could practically see everything, including several distant Cities. Radon, Beryllium, and Arsenic were some of those neighboring cities.

All of them radiated a different color. Radon glowed a beautiful dark green, Beryllium emanated bright yellow, and Arsenic was practically all white. It was a gorgeous sight to bestow the eyes.

Her boyfriend leaned over and kissed her on the mouth. She smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer, kissing him back. Her white and neon green circuits glowing brightly. Her blue eyes sparkled and glowed with excitement. She opened her mouth and he slid his tongue inside. She moaned at the feeling. And she loved it.

They pulled away for air, breathing hard. He grinned at her, she smiled back. He reached over and traced one of her white circuits. She sighed and closed her eyes. She felt a shiver run up and down her body from the touch.

She reached out and touched one of his white circuits. He closed his eyes too. For a while they just sat there on the rooftop, cuddling with each other and touching and kissing… all the romantic stuff.

He reached his arm over and around her shoulders, pulling her closer to him. He leaned closer to her and whispered. "I love you."

She smiled. They've said that to each other so many other times before and they'll keep saying it. There was no way that they could express what they both really felt for each other. It was impossible to describe with words and can only portion it with actions. She knew he loved her, and she felt the same way.

She kissed his cheek. Then she rested her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes. She smiled into the soft, cool breeze and whispered. "I love you too, Beck…"

* * *

Alpha felt sleep getting closer. She frowned. She missed Beck so much and hoped that he was out there somewhere. He had to be out there. She could somehow **feel** it. One cycle, she'll see him again. And they'll finally be together again.

She squeezed her eyes closed tighter. _No one will stand between Beck and me. I will not get distracted with other programs._ Sleep was getting even closer. She repeated her vows in her head._ I fight for the last remaining ISOs. I fight for the Users. I fight for freedom… I fight for Beck._

She closed her eyes and let sleep overtake her.

…

Sky sat down on the chair and sighed. "Everything is going according to plan. Alpha's unharmed and in one peace. I must continue to secure her well-being. The Resistance Movement is rebuilding in a safe location that I don't know **yet**. Hopefully we'll rendezvous with everyone soon."

He cringed when he remembered the last time he was on a mission like this. "And this time, I won't be a failure… not again…"

* * *

**Okay, of course, Cyrus came for Paige again... and failed. Beck knows The Librarian's true name (Evelyn). The Librarian will be called by her real name from now on. Alpha and Beck finally met through their disguises... and she was a total jerk to Beck and neither of them didn't even know it. ;P Alpha really is Ally (It was obvious for most of you, congratulations on figuring that out early) and she hopes to find Beck so they can be together and happy again. (That's so sweet!) Little so either of them know what Ally did to Beck and mentally hurt him. :( And Sky has his own painful and humiliating past of his own to hide. But I might no reveal it until the next book. (Don't worry, the next book will come out soon. ;) I also need you people's opinion. Now that you know that Alpha's really Ally, I need to know whether you prefer to call her in narrations. Her programmed name (Alpha) or her nickname (Ally). Please review which one I should call her. That'd be greatly appreciated! :) TRON LIVES! Toodles! XD**


	50. Chapter 49, Epilogue, and Trailer! :)

**Hi! :) It's me again! This is the last chapter for this book. XD I know, it's extremely long, but I wanted to make this the very last chapter, so I crammed all this stuff (The chapter itself, the Epilogue, and the trailer) I also decided to add a trailer for the next book in the end! XD Figured you guys would like that. I probably won't write something this long ever again...It's EXTREMELY LONG! (Which has exactly: 16,421 words!) O_O I don't think I'll be able to make a chapter longer than this so quickly! I'm going to get started on the sequel as soon as possible. XD That's gonna be a thrill ride that you won't want to miss! New Characters! (Some were already introduced) New Cities! (which all of them are always going to be named after the Elements of the Periodic Table) (I noticed that Purgos and Tron City are the only cities that aren't Elements) XP Anyways, here's the last chapter. Enjoy! :)**

* * *

**Chapter 49**

Paige was nerve wracked. She was pretty sure that she'd get busted now. Clu and Dyson will want to look at her disk to find out what she's been preoccupied with.

They'll most likely figure out her secret and she'll either get caught, or she'll escape and become a wanted, Enemy of the State. Things weren't looking too good for her right now. And this may be the very last cycle that she'll be a free, unwanted program.

She walked through a pair of doors into her bedroom. No doubt she probably looks like a mess from the incident last night and might need to look into a mirror, pronto!

She looked into the mirror and sighed with relief. It wasn't as bad as she expected. There were just several strands here and there that were out of place. Easily fixable.

While she was still fixing her hair, her door opened to let another program inside. It was Dyson. "Where have you been?" He asked. He did not seem to be in the mood to be lied to.

Paige turned around after she finished with her hair. She didn't have to lie to have and excuse. "Well, last night I was chasing the Renegade… who got away again." She paused. "He escaped by jumping off the docks and into the Sea of Simulation."

Dyson's eyes widened. Paige nodded. "Yeah, I know. He's crazier than I thought." Paige continued. "As I made my way back to the base, I got kidnapped by a dangerous psychopath."

"Hold on, stop." Dyson ordered, holding up a hand to gesture her to slow down. "Do you know who the program is?" Paige nodded. "Who is it?"

Paige bit her lip. "His name is Cyrus."

Dyson's eyes widened and his jaw dropped open. "How is he alive? I thought he was dead!"

Paige shrugged. "Well I thought I derezzed him eight cycles ago. Looks like we both are confused."

"No, no, no! It's not like that! He was aboard a recognizer that crashed into the outlands. No soldier has ever seen him again. Now he's some crazy nutcase who likes to kidnap other soldiers?"

Paige shook her head. "I don't think that's the case." She paused. "Boarding him on a recognizer and having it crash in the outlands is a great way to kill someone by the way."

Dyson shook his head. "No, we didn't try to kill him! He used to be a sentry that served under me! He was guarding a prisoner on that recognizer that crashed into the outlands!"

Paige's eyes widened. "Cyrus worked for Clu? Wow… I didn't see that coming."

"Alright, we should go to Clu and warn him that one of our best Centries survived that crash and turned into some psychotic lunatic bent on… what's his main goal?"

_This isn't good._ Paige thought to herself. She looked at Dyson wryly. "Um, destroying the entire grid along with everyone and everything on it…"

Her words shocked Dyson. "Uh, okay, let's go talk to Clu."

…

It felt like forever before Beck reached Tron's hideout. When he got there, he told Tron that he finally met Alpha in person. He asked how that went. Beck said. "Not good…" and he drew his disk to show Tron the memories. He'd rather not explain it himself.

Tron frowned when he finished watching. "It looks to me… that she doesn't like you."

Beck sighed. "Oh really? I guess it does take a genius to figure that out."

"I think you're starting to get her attitude too."

Beck sat down on the stairs. "Sorry. What do you think she's up to?"

Tron shrugged and handed back his disk. "Beats me. You might have to ask her that yourself."

"Well, I doubt she'll tell me anything. Besides, you saw her threat in my memories."

Tron nodded. "True, but have you tried confronting her **without** the suit?"

Beck shook his head. "Bad idea. After I start asking questions, she'll know it's me."

Tron sat down next to Beck and patted his shoulder. "Then give it time. She might come around eventually. And when that happens, you'll be able to talk with her in a more… civilized and polite manner." Beck chuckled and nodded.

Tron gave him a comforting smile and glanced out the window. "Curfew's about to start. You might want to get back to Able's Garage before you're chased around again."

Beck nodded and stood up, heading out the door. "Oh, Beck!"

He turned around. "Yeah?"

"So, The Librarian's name is Evelyn?"

Beck chuckled. "Goodbye, Tron." The elevator doors closed behind him. He smiled and shook his head. _Tron still needs to work on his sense of humor…_

The elevator doors opened and let Beck outside. He pulled out his baton and rezzed his bike, heading back to the garage. Curfew was about to start, but he'd make it in time… if he didn't run into any trouble.

…

Ally sighed when she woke and sat up on the bed. She looked around her room with lazy eyes. She had grown used to her bedroom that she could walk all over the place with her eyes closed.

She got up and walked over to the mirror. Taking off her mask, she stared into her glowing, neon green eyes, then looked at her sandy brown hair. It barely grew. It almost touched her shoulders and it's very wavy. Her eyes flickered down to her suit. She was still wearing that stealth outfit.

Ally frowned. She wanted to get out of here, get away from the Resistance Movement. She was just going into hiding and taking cover as an ordinary field medic. She never meant to become the head figure or leader or whatever she's known as! The Alpha.

She just wanted to stay hidden among the crowd but fight against Clu at the same time. Her plan was to overthrow Clu alongside the Resistance Movement while she was in disguise. When the Grid was free and any remaining ISOs can come out into the open again, she could get out of this disguise and go out looking for Beck while looking like her normal self again.

But no. She got more involved than she wanted to. She became a beacon of hope for an entire Resistance Movement. She sighed. _Keep it up. This will be over in no time. Clu will be overthrown and I'll will be free to look for Beck… as long as I'm not wearing any recognizable outfits._

Ally remembered when she wore that one outfit that had the bright, innocent white of an ordinary citizen, mixed with neon green. She wore that outfit all the time around Beck.

Back before Clu took over, she wore that outfit with her 'A' emblem on it. When Clu took over, she spliced her outfit into two outfits and got rid of her emblem off the now ordinary citizen outfit's chest. She then transferred the emblem to a normal Medic uniform, which was always on her disk.

She was told by Flynn a couple of times as one of the Grid's masterpiece creations. He kept telling her that, but she didn't know what he meant… until Clu took over. There were ISOs, programs (who used to be called Basics), and there was a new species of programs… _**Specials**_.

Specials were a new breed of programs. They had more than one programming in their systems, normally two different programmings. There were few Specials on the grid. They were a major threat to Clu, but not an imperfection.

Like ISOs, they didn't have Users. What made them different from ISOs, were the facts that they weren't marked with light lines on their skin and no ISO marks on their left arm. ISOs had no programmings at all while Specials did, but they had two specific programmings.

Ally was a special, but even more special. Instead of having two programmings, she had three. She was a DJ, a Medic, and a System Monitor. Little did she know that her 'System Monitor' programming was confused with a normal 'fighter' or 'Soldier' programming instead.

Having three programmings instead of one or two made her the most unique Special that Flynn had ever known.

Usually, it's very difficult to identify a Special. The only way you can tell that the program is a Special, you have to examine their programmings on their disk.

Ally was very unique, what really made her stand out was her neon green circuits (no other program on the Grid has neon colors on them and Ally can't get rid of the colors), and she had the ability to change her facial features, and she always wore high heels.

What was very strange about Specials was the fact that they're always first found without a disk. They don't naturally have disks like Programs do. The Specials don't come from the Sea of Simulation, which would consider them an ISO. They rezzed onto the Grid in totally different ways than ISOs and ordinary Basics.

Usually, they'd just randomly rezzed onto the grid the same way an ordinary program would, except it was in the Outlands. But Ally rezzed onto the grid in a very unique way. Like other Specials, she rezzed in the Outlands, but for some reason, she was different from the others.

Ally remembered the very cycle she was found. Of course, it was before Clu seized power from Kevin Flynn. Her dark blue eyes sparkled and glowed all the time, her dirty blonde hair was perfectly straight with choppy tips that were dyed a vibrant red. She was wearing her high heels white primary circuits and her secondary circuits were neon green. Her neon green 'A' emblem stood out on her chest, but she had no disk. All Specials needed disks, but for some reason, Ally never really needed one.

Ally was found wandering the streets of Tron City by one of Tron's security programs. He was very nice. He asked her if she knew her own name. She nodded. "Alpha, my name is Alpha." Dyson led her to a nearby building with a siren inside. He requested for Alpha to get a disk.

When Ally received her Authentic identity Disk, she started working as a DJ in a Club. When she was working though, she had a different appearance. Her hair was shoulder length and sandy brown and it was very wavy. She also changed her eye color to neon green. That appearance was only when she was a DJ. They've always gotta wear strange stuff for a trend.

When a program commented on her neon green circuits, he asked if she was a Special. Ally had no idea what he was talking about. Rumors quickly spread about a special that was working in a random club. She didn't understand what the problem was.

After a few cycles, one of Flynn's security programs walked into the club to see her. "May I pull you aside for a moment?" He asked.

Ally nodded. "Yes, of course."

He led her out of the club to talk. "What are you?"

Ally sighed. "If I knew the answer to that, I would've honestly answered all the other programs who asked me that question. I don't know. I'm sorry."

He frowned. "We should go see Flynn. He'll figure out what you are."

Ally's eyes widened. She was very humble and didn't like attracting attention to herself. "Um, I'm not sure if it's wise for me to interrupt or disturb whatever the creator's doing. I'd rather not waste his time."

He smiled reassuringly at her. "Don't worry. Seeing the programs of the Grid is not a waste of time for him."

He led her to a small building with a sign hanging over it reading: Flynn's. The wind blew through her sandy brown hair. She frowned when she realized she forgot to change her appearance back to normal. He stopped next to the door and turned towards her. "We'll wait here. Flynn should be here shortly. Clu and Tron will also be here soon."

Before long, Clu and Tron were walking over to the building. Tron raised a quizzical eyebrow at Ally. "Who's this?" Clu asked.

The soldier looked at them. "Her name is Alpha. We're here to see Flynn. He might be able to figure out what she is."

"I was about to ask that question." Tron commented.

Ally looked at the ground. "Everyone asks that question. Even I'm clueless of what I am."

The soldier glanced at Ally. "Well, I know one thing for sure. No program wears neon green circuits."

Ally looked up and frowned at him. "Well, I can't get rid of them. Believe me, I've tried!"

Suddenly, the entire building lit up. Ally shaded her eyes to keep herself from getting blinded. She heard footsteps. When the light died down, she uncovered her eyes to see Flynn walking over to them.

"Well, Tron and Clu will watch you now. I should go, don't be afraid." The soldier turned and walked away from the building, leaving Ally alone with Clu, Tron, and Flynn.

Ally glanced over at them from the sidelines. They were talking about something that probably wasn't related to her at the moment. Flynn glanced over to her and raised his eyebrows. "Who's that?"

Clu and Tron followed his gaze and immediately remembered her. "Oh, right." Tron remembered. "This is Alpha. Apparently, no one knows what she is. A soldier came by and dropped her off so she could see you."

"Oh." Was all Flynn replied as he slowly approached her. He walked around, examining her from head to foot. Eventually he stopped and looked at her in the eye. "How long have you been on the Grid, Alpha?"

Ally bit her lip. She hadn't been around very long. "About six cycles now." She replied not looking him in the eye out of respect.

Flynn nodded a few times. "So you're new around here." She nodded in response. "Where did you rez onto the Grid?" He inquired, eyeing Ally carefully.

Ally quickly answered. "The Outlands…"

Flynn smiled. "Then you're a Special."

"But Flynn," Tron said. "What about her neon green circuits?"

Clu turned towards him. "Well, Specials sometimes have something unique about them. For her, it might be her neon green colored circuits. Specials are a new species of programs that have different abilities and appearances apart from ISOs or Basics. They typically have two programmings instead of one."

"But…" Ally bit her lip. "I have three programmings, Sir."

Tron's eyes widened, while Clu gave her a half smile. Flynn frowned. "You have three?" He asked. Ally nodded. Flynn turned and reached out for her disk. "May I?"

Ally nodded. "Yes." Flynn took off her disk and activated her hologram. Ally closed her eyes. _Flynn is going to know __**everything**__ about me._

Flynn's eyes widened I amazement. "Well, you **do** have three programmings!" He sifted through more images. "And you have the ability to change your facial and hair features." He frowned. "I don't know why you have neon green circuits, but even I can't get rid of them." He deactivated her disk and handed it back. "Luckily, nothing is hurting you. I conclude that you're a Special. A very **special** one."

Flynn wrapped an arm around her shoulders and started walking. "You've been living with the ordinary Basics?" Ally nodded again, still avoiding Flynn's eyes. Flynn patted her on the back and smiled. "Come on, I'll show you your new home." Flynn turned around and glanced back at Clu. "Do you think you can help Tron organize a team and strategy to apprehend those gangs in Neon?"

Clu nodded and started walking towards Tron's HQ to plan. Ally looked at Flynn quizzically. He glanced at her. "Oh, there's a really bad gang in Neon City that needs to be brought under control. Tron and Clu were just talking to me about that. They call themselves 'The Crims' or something like that." He shook his head in disappointment. "Apparently, they like to cause trouble."

"Oh." Ally responded. She frowned. "Um, where, exactly, is my new home?"

Flynn gave her an amused look and explained where she'd be. "Tron City is divided into various districts. One is for Basics, another is for ISOs, and the third is for Specials. That's where you'll be staying."

Ally frowned when she thought of future possibilities. "Will I be observed and studied?" She asked, unable to hide her nervousness. Flynn laughed and shook his head. "No, your disk held all the answers. Don't worry about anything. Your kind, along with the ISOs, were a gift to Basics from the Grid itself! It's radical!"

Ally smiled. Flynn was a very nice and reassuring person. _No wonder everyone enjoys being around him._ Ally thought. The stopped walking when they reached a cluster of very tall buildings. Ally stared. She couldn't even see the rooftops.

Flynn grinned at her. "Welcome home."

Ally smiled and looked downward. "Thank you, Flynn."

His smile faltered slightly, then came back. "You can give me eye contact, you know. It actually makes me slightly uncomfortable talking to someone who doesn't look me in the eyes." Flynn chuckled and patted her on the back. Ally managed to give him eye contact and smile.

Flynn grinned and squeezed her shoulder in a comforting manner and turned to leave. "I'll see you around, Alpha. I gotta go and get back to work."

Ally smiled after him and waved goodbye. "Nice to actually meet you in person." Ally murmured barely above a whisper. _What a nice guy._ Ally thought briefly before walking inside the building that Flynn stopped beside. She found a new home.

…

Every time Flynn entered the grid, he came by to see Ally for a few nanocycles or so. She didn't know why she was receiving special treatment from the creator himself, but it was nice to know that he most likely didn't think that she was a freak.

Ally also decided to stick with her white primary circuited suit and secondary neon green circuits, topped off with the 'A' emblem. She always wore the heels. And she kept her hair wavy and sandy brown with the choppy haircut. Her eyes still glowed neon green like her secondary circuits that she was stuck with forever. Flynn had come to recognize her looking like that.

"Tron knows how capable Specials are of fighting, even if it's not in their programming." Flynn told her once. Ally smiled. She was actually glad that he was telling her new things.

Flynn continued. "Clu is also enthralled by their high level of intellect. But what really amazes him is their appearances and abilities! He says that they're a perfect example of a perfect appearance. The way they all look is just… flawless. There's nothing wrong with them."

His eyes focused and put on a more serious face, but excitement still emanated from his eyes. "But I also made a discovery of my own about them…"

Ally leaned in closer. "What?"

Flynn smiled. "They have more human emotions than even ISOs do. In fact, it's possible that they can mentally react the same way that other humans to. Their emotions and feelings are even more… natural than an ISO's emotions."

Ally was fascinated. "You mean, Specials are possibly capable of crying, blushing, and more? Like Users do?"

Flynn nodded. "It takes willpower, and they may go through a lot of mental stress to actually experience these feelings. It may not be as easy to cry or blush like a human does. They may have to feel more than mental pain or suffering to cry. They may need to feel more than embarrassment or anger to blush." These few minor facts completely captured Ally's attention.

He grinned. "Unlike ISOs, Clu seems to be more cozy with the Specials. Their abilities are sometimes so much different from Basics and ISOs. They're so..." Flynn searched for the right word. "Gifted."

He glanced at Ally with a big smile on his face. "He says you're nothing like them." Ally was confused. _If I'm not like them, I'm not perfect, I'm not gifted… so __**why**__ is Flynn smiling at me like it's a good thing?!_

Flynn patted her shoulder. "He said that you're the definition for 'perfection' itself, Alpha." The words surprised Ally. _Clu thinks I'm __**that**__ perfect?_ She was both flattered, but confused why she was considered the 'perfect' program. She wasn't used to all this attention.

"Gee, Flynn… I… I don't know what to say about that. I feel… privileged. Thank you." Flynn smiled and patted her shoulder.

"Clu has his eyes on you. He thinks that you may be the most gifted of them all." Ally smiled back at Flynn.

"Thanks."

Flynn patted her on the back one last time before getting up and leaving. "I'll see you around!" Ally waved goodbye. She had no idea that it would be the vary last time she saw him… before Clu took over.

…

_Screams… shouts… bombs and gunfire… it's everywhere!_ Ally sat up quickly in bed, eyes wide open. _What the heck is going on out there?!_ She jumped out of bed and ran over to her window.

She squinted through the glass to see what all the commotion was all about. She gasped. _This has never happened before… I never thought it would… and I hoped it wouldn't… but it did._ She covered her mouth to keep her from screaming in shock. _The ISO districts are under attack!_

Ally shook her head, chanting the same three words in her head.

_This isn't happening… This isn't happening… This isn't happening… This isn't happening… This isn't happening!_

A bomb dropped from a recognizer and literally shook the entire Grid, telling her that it really **was** happening.

She turned and bolted out the door of her dormitory. Running into the hallway of the giant building, she started yelling at the top of her lungs. "The ISO Districts are under attack! Hundreds of them are dying! We need to go help them! Everyone get up! The Grid's at **war**!"

Literally every Special in the hallway filed out of their rooms with sleepy eyes. "Alpha, what's going on here?" Asked a Special named Courtney.

Ally pointed outside a random window. "Have you bothered taking a look outside?! Someone's obviously lost their sanity and decided to take it out on the ISOs!"

Everyone turned their heads to glance out the windows and gasped. "Oh my GOSH! What are we going to do?!" Courtney asked.

Alpha turned and started walking slowly towards the elevator. "**I'm** going to go out there and **stop** this madness! Is some of you have noticed the facts, we practically are what keeps ISOs and Basics connected and united. We need to help our friendly neighbors before the Grid is destabilized and unbalanced."

"HOLD ON!" Another Special shouted. Her name was Tris. "How do you know that the ISOs are good? What if they're really bad and that Flynn's just been delusional about them?"

Ally stopped and turned directly towards her. "Excuse me?! Have you gone mad like the program out there who decided to attack all those ISOs? I can already **feel** the Grid destabilizing because of all those deaths! Whether or not that ISOs are good or bad, they're all connected to the Grid and if they die, we'll all **feel** it!"

Tris scowled at Ally. "You're just as delusional as Flynn!" She accused. She turned to face the rest of the crowd. "Those of you who believe that the Grid would be better **without** ISOs, come with me!" She turned and headed for another elevator, with almost half of the programs following her.

Ally groaned in frustration and turned to face the Specials that chose to not follow the girl. "Any of you who wish to not get involved should go back to their Dorms. No hard feelings, no questions asked."

She continued. "Anyone who wishes to stand up for the ISOs, can follow me to that elevator and round up other Specials who wish to do the same." Ally walked into the elevator with almost all of the remaining crowd following her. Only two programs decided to stay in their Dorms and not get involved.

They went on every floor of the building to round up ISO sympathizers, which didn't take long at all and then they headed for the main floor. When they got to the bottom, they filed out of the elevator and ran outside with their lightcycle batons.

They quickly rezzed their bikes and headed straight for the ISO District. When they arrived, it was a living nightmare. All they heard around was screams of fright and pain. Gunfire was everywhere. Ally looked over to see a black guard in orange circuits derez an ISO right off the street.

She turned her bike back into a baton and ran towards the buildings that were being shot by recognizers and other aerial vehicles. A steady flow of ISOs were stumbling outside the doors, coughing. Some were injured. More orange circuited black guards were walking towards them, activating their disks.

Ally started running and jumped, twisting and performing a flip over the line of guards. She landed in between the crowd of ISOs and the army of black guards. She drew her disk, preparing for the fight of not just her life, but for the ISOs as well.

Some of the ISOs that weren't in too much shock from the incident drew and activated their disks to defend themselves. The Specials that Ally rounded up to defend the ISOs also stood in front of the black guard to fight.

The army of black guards suddenly stopped when they realized that they weren't only up against ISOs, but Specials as well. One guard spoke up. "By orders of System Administrator, Clu, we're hereby authorized to cleanse the Grid of imperfection. Stand aside so we may rid the world of the ISOs."

Ally simply scowled at them and activated her disk. "Over my derezzed body!" Her allies followed her lead and stood their ground. One thing completely caught Ally off guard though. _Clu? Clu ordered this?! I thought he was better than that!_

The black guard turned toward a sentry and whispered something that no one else could hear. "Tell the rest of the army that the Specials are resisting and defending the ISOs. Be sure to give orders not to harm them. Clu suspected that this would happen. We can't kill them. Capture the resisting Specials and take them to a safe location where they can't get involved in this."

The Sentry nodded and whispered the new orders to the rest of the soldiers. They then reactivated their disks and confronted the crowd to fight. Ally raised her disk and was the first program to charge. The other Specials eventually did what she did.

The Specials were very close with the ISOs. In fact, the two breeds of programs got along famously. But a handful of other Specials were uneasy with the ISOs because rumors from the Basics got to them. Now there's a major conflict was happening… just because of simple rumors.

Ally threw her disk at a soldier and derezzed his arm without killing him. She kicked another guard to the ground and threw a punch at one to her right. She reached out and caught her disk, slashing a guard in the leg.

A guard snuck up and grabbed her from behind. She lifted her right arm and elbowed him hard in the stomach. He gasped and let go of her.

She looked at her fellow comrades and grinned. They were actually beating the black guards! _Maybe the ISOs will stand a chance._ By the time the last soldier fell, the ISOs and Specials who fought for them cheered. They had won!

A realization hit Ally like a punch in the stomach. The battle isn't over just yet. Clu will send reinforcements when he realizes that the Specials have beaten his black guard and let the ISOs escape.

"Alpha, what's wrong?" A Special named Liz, Ally's best friend, walked over and gently touched her shoulder. She must've noticed that something was troubling her. Ally looked at her with sad eyes.

"This isn't over yet. If Clu's the one who ordered this, the ISOs will always be in danger." Ally walked past Liz and stood on top of a crate. "Everyone listen up!" They stopped and looked at Ally. "We're not done yet! Clu is going to send reinforcements to wipe out what's left of the ISO survivors. We need to get the ISOs to safety before Clu can carry out that plan."

"Um, we might be too late…" Liz said. She was looking out at the distance with a pair of binoculars. "Look."

Liz handed Ally the binoculars and peeked into the far distance. The sight shocked her. The reinforcements were already heading their way. Ally lowered the binoculars and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Uh, we… we need to grab as many supplies from the wreckage as we can and leave before those goons get here."

They all nodded in understanding. "But what if we don't have time?" Liz asked.

Ally looked at her. "Then I, along with a few other brave programs will fight to buy the ISOs more time." Ally raised the binoculars back up to her eyes and looked at the larger army that was advancing on them every moment. "And it looks like I'm going to have to do that."

Ally handed Liz back the binoculars and grabbed a lightsword from a crate. She turned back to the crowd. "I'm going to fight against the reinforcements. Anyone who's willing to risk their lives and safety for the ISOs may feel free to follow." She eyes the crowd carefully. "If none of you wish to join me, you don't have to. No hard feelings…"

Liz walked over and stood beside Ally. "No questions asked." She finished for Ally.

Ally looked over at Liz and smiled. "Thank you."

Liz smiled back. "I fight to do what's right."

To both Ally and Liz's surprise, a female ISO also joined in to buy the evacuates more time. "Are you sure you want to potentially sacrifice yourself?" She inquired. "You don't have to do that."

The ISO looked at Ally and smiled. "I will fight for what remains of my kind." She smiled. "No matter the consequences."

Ally stared at the brave ISO. She had short, dark brown hair that was about jaw length, and angled the same way her jaw was. She had light brown eyes and curved eyebrows with a small button nose. What caught Ally's attention was that she wore a suit that completely covered her body like a Basic's suit. She wasn't wearing gloves, and only part of her upper arms was bare to show off her ISO symbol with pride. She was pretty, like ISOs usually were.

Ally turned and addressed the crowd. "All right! You all have to grab what you can and get to safety. Go into hiding, do something to camouflage yourselves from Clu and his forces!" Ally, Liz, and the female ISO rezzed their lightbikes and headed for the army.

Ally looked at Liz with sad eyes. "Liz, this may be the very last time we're together. I want to say that I've enjoyed being your friend and that I'm honored to fight alongside you for the ISOs."

Liz looked over at Ally with a kind smile. "And I'll greatly appreciate saving hundreds of lives fighting with you and the ISO."

"I have a name, you know." The ISO said.

Liz shot her an embarrassed look. "Sorry, we don't know it." Ally noticed a red hue on Liz's cheeks. _Liz is actually feeling human emotions. Flynn told me that Specials are capable of crying and blushing._

Ally gave Liz a 'congratulations' look and looked at the ISO. "Evelyn, my name is Evelyn."

Ally drove next to Evelyn and held out her hand to shake. "Nice to meet you, Evelyn. I'll cherish fighting with you until I drop."

Evelyn shot Ally and Liz weird looks, while shaking Ally's hand. "You two are talking like there's no hope of either of you surviving. You need to have more confidence!"

Ally frowned. "Well think about it. Only three of us-two Specials and one ISO-are confronting an entire army of hundreds of black guards. This is pretty much a suicide mission."

Evelyn sighed. "You guys are acting like there's no hope. Maybe we'll get lucky… somehow. After all, I'm the one they want to kill, not you guys. Clu likes your species. You'll most likely be spared."

They turned their bikes back into batons when they neared the army of black guards. Ally drew and activated her disk, taking out her lightsword as well. Liz and Evelyn did the same. Without warning, the three programs charged toward the blackguards, throwing their disks.

The fight started out strong for Ally and her friends, throwing their disks, hitting the guards with their swords, punching and kicking, but they were starting to get tired, not to mention that they're still seriously outnumbered.

Ally blocked a blow from a black guard's disk with her sword and ran as fast as she could over to Evelyn and Liz. They tried splitting up and taking on a portion of guards, but it's not working. "Back to back!" Ally shouted at her comrades. They nodded and rejoined Ally.

Now they were all back to back, fighting from different angles. They were all tired and they wouldn't last much longer. Evelyn got cut on her upper arm and Liz was actually sweating! Ally knew that Liz must be feeling a lot of strong emotions right now.

A guard punched Ally in the side of her head to daze her and then hit her in the stomach. Ally dropped to her knees, her disk and sword fell out of her hands. The guard cuffed her wrists behind her back and held her in place on her knees.

Ally glanced over at Liz, who also took a wicked punch to the stomach and doubled over. It took several guards to hold her down on the ground. Evelyn was already being pushed down. The guards firmly held her by the shoulders while one other guard held his disk high above her head, ready to strike.

"Noooo!" Ally cried. She tried to get up, but the guard above her had a tight grip. Liz was struggling as well. Just before the guards could execute Evelyn, a disk flew out of nowhere and derezzed the guard that was going to kill Evelyn.

A hand caught the disk and the dark-skinned program ran toward the army of black guards, followed by hundreds of other programs. Ally gasped. _These programs are Basics! And they're fighting for the ISOs… or at least against the black guards._

The guards drew and activated their disks again for another fight. The program threw his disk and derezzed more guards. He punched the guard that was holding Ally down and knelt behind her, using his disk to cut her bonds.

"Thank you" Ally said, rubbing her sore wrists and standing up.

He looked at Ally, then glanced at her friends, then looked at her as if she was insane. "What were you guys thinking?! You don't just round up a couple of programs and then decide to take on an entire army of black guards!"

Liz glared at him. Ally frowned. "We were the only programs who were willing to delay these soldiers to allow the surviving ISOs to escape."

He looked at Evelyn, who was back to fighting the black guards. Since the Basics were here to fight as well, they all stood a chance. "Did you notice that you're sacrificing an ISO's life right now?"

Ally threw her hands up in the air. "I knew that! We couldn't stop her from accompanying us! She said she's willing to give her life if it meant saving the rest of her kind."

He rolled his eyes and reactivated his disk. "Well, I guess we could always use three extra programs. Come on, we need to get rid of these soldiers so Clu will at least lack one of his resources."

Liz nodded and reactivated her disk too. "You got it, chief!"

Ally rolled her eyes and picked her disk and lightsword back up. "What's your name? I'm pretty sure you'll get sick of being called 'chief' after a while."

He chuckled as he threw his disk, derezzing another black guard. "My name's Cutler." He turned towards her and grinned as he dodged a punch. Ally injured the guard's leg with her sword and Cutler kicked him.

After they defeated the black guards, the survivors retreated. Ally sat down next to Liz and Evelyn, trying to recover from all that's happened tonight. Evelyn still had that nasty cut from the fight earlier.

"Can I have a look?" Ally asked. Evelyn nodded and handed over her disk. Ally opened up its coding to display the digital DNA. "Whoa…" Though it was very complex, it was still easily fixable.

"Cutler!" A Basic called him over. They looked at a radar screen frowning. "Clu's sending more reinforcements."

Ally groaned and rested her head in her hands. "Looks like it's the start of a war."

Liz nodded in agreement. "The ISO War… it's a great name for something like this but… this didn't have to happen!"

Ally shook her head in disappointment. "How could Clu do this? Hating a species is one thing, but genocide is another!"

Evelyn started shaking and making sobbing noises. "I lost so many friends tonight… my home was destroyed… all that I know, is about to come to an end."

Liz patted Evelyn's back in a comforting manner. "Evelyn, it ended a millicycle ago, not just a few nanos."

Evelyn looked up and glared at Liz. Ally stood up. _Time to get involved before someone gets hurt._ Evelyn kept staring at Liz with a deep, threatening gaze. "Well, at least Clu didn't decide to attempt to wipe out your breed of programs! Have you felt the pain of losing hundreds of your own friends?!"

Liz lifted an eyebrow. "Wow, I didn't realize that you were that popular." Evelyn stood up and drew her disk to strike Liz.

Ally thought quickly and rushed over, grabbing Evelyn's arm. "Don't do it." Evelyn was about to go through the _'but-she-insulted-my-kind'_ scenario. Ally lifted a hand to keep her from talking. "I'm aware that Liz insulted both you and the ISO species but I'm sure that deep down, she really didn't mean it."

Evelyn simply shot Liz a dirty look and sat back down. Ally changed the subject. "Liz, what do you think Tris is doing with the other Specials that aren't supporting the ISOs?"

Liz sighed and leaned back, bracing her hands on the ground behind her. "She's probably getting her supporters to join Clu's forces as extra help to purge the ISOs." She shrugged like it really wasn't a surprise. "Tris never really liked the ISOs."

Liz smirked at Ally. "She likes to be on Clu's good side." She leaned closer. "And you know what?"

Ally leaned closer too. "What?" She asked.

Liz started giggling. "When Clu gave you his special attention and made you the example of perfection…" She started laughing. "Tris was **so** angry! She was literally flushed!" Ally couldn't help but laugh too. Evelyn smirked.

Liz was quiet for a while. "How do you think Zoe's doing?" It was a good question. No one had any idea what she was doing outside Tron City a few cycles before the war… except Ally.

Ally stared at the ground. "I don't know how Zoe's doing. I'm not even sure where she is right now."

Zoe was another one of Ally's best friends. She's also a Special. But she worked under Tron as one of his secret agents. He sent her to another City to work undercover to get a first-person perspective on another gang situation. It's likely that she was forced to flee and go into hiding until receiving instructions after hearing what was going on in her home City.

Ally really didn't know where Zoe was sent. She told her that it was Classified and that she wasn't allowed to tell. But she hoped that Zoe was safe.

Cutler caught Ally's eye and beckoned her. "What is it?" Ally asked as she made her way over.

He gave her a look of concern. "Clu wants you and your friend back." He pointed at Liz. He looked back at Ally. "But he seems to want you especially."

Ally narrowed her eyes. "What do you mean he wants us back? We never belonged to him."

Cutler frowned at her. "According to the message he gave us, you and Liz are Specials. He says that if we don't give you guys up, he'll kill the Basics-our allies- that he captured."

Ally hesitated before asking. "So you're going to give us up?"

He shook his head. "What's strange is that he didn't ask for Evelyn, just you and her." He pointed at Liz again. "I guess he's just confident that she'll eventually end up dead. But he's probably looking at you Specials as a threat. We need to make sure that Clu doesn't get near you."

Ally remembered what Flynn told her. _Tron knows how capable Specials are of fighting, even if it's not in their programming. Clu is also enthralled by their high level of intellect. But what really amazes him is their abilities!_

Ally rolled her eyes. _No wonder Clu thinks we're a threat. Liz and I are both very strong and agile, not to mention our very high level of intelligence._ Cutler said that the Basics weren't going to give up the Specials.

Either they're not going to be given up because of their incredible combat abilities or that they're planning on using Ally and Liz as objects to try and get Clu to do what they want. Neither possibility seemed good for their case. _I think we should leave._

Ally walked back over to Liz and Evelyn. Some of the Basics were eyeing Ally very carefully. They probably know what she's thinking. _I should try to throw them off._

She plastered a big smile on her face and clasped her hands together in front of her body. "Wow! You two actually amazed me!" Liz and Evelyn looked at her in confusion. "I left for two nanocycles and you two weren't even close to trying to kill each other!"

They both smirked and tried not to laugh because it was true. Ally glanced around again. No one seemed to be looking. _Good. Now I should really start talking… and make it quick!_

Ally wiped her grin off her face and got close to them. "Okay, guys, you have to listen very carefully."

Liz raised an eyebrow. "Alpha, what's happening?"

"Shhhh!" Ally raised a finger. "Clu wants Liz and me back." She looked at Evelyn. "And he wants you dead. I might seem to be jumping to conclusions, but I think some of the Basics are plotting on turning us in."

Liz frowned. "Is that what Cutler was telling you?"

Ally nodded. "Well, he told me that they weren't going to give us up. But I don't trust some of the looks they're giving us. I think we should just leave and reunite with the surviving ISOs."

Cutler started walking over. Ally looked at him and lifted an eyebrow. He knelt down beside them and quietly whispered. "You were right, Alpha. The Basics are planning on giving you up. You have to run away while most of them are sleeping."

He stood up and saluted the three programs. "It's been great to fight alongside you programs." He looked at Ally and Liz. "You two did something very brave tonight. Stupid, but brave. You can say in the future that you fought in the ISO War, defended the ISOs, and lived to tell the tale." He looked at Evelyn. "Be careful out there. Good luck."

He then turned around and walked back over to the radar screen. "Alright everyone! I have our next move planned out. Gather around so I can distribute it effectively." Once everyone was crowded around Cutler, he glanced over at Ally and nodded, giving her the 'all clear' signal.

Ally turned to Evelyn and Liz. "Okay, let's get going." They started walking away and staying hidden behind rocks. Once they were out of ear shot, they pulled out their batons and rezzed their bikes.

It didn't take long to find out where the ISOs went. Apparently, Evelyn has some sort of Sixth sense that somehow tells her where other ISOs are. Ally and Liz smiled when they found that the Specials were still with the ISOs as well.

"Alpha! You made it! We were all starting to worry!" Courtney exclaimed and hugged her. Ally let out a yelp of surprise before embracing her as well.

"Yeah, it's good to be back." Ally let go of Courtney and looked at the other Specials and ISOs. "Um, we have a bit of a problem." Ally frowned and looked at the ISOs. "It's obvious that Clu wants all of you dead."

She looked at the other Specials. "But Clu wants us… alive."

The crowd of Specials started murmuring to one another. "Why?" Courtney asked.

Ally frowned. "Apparently we all pose as a huge threat against Clu." She repeated what Flynn had told her. "We're all capable of performing exceptional fighting techniques, even if it's not in our programming. And," She looked at the crowd. "We all have a very high level of intellect. With both of those abilities combined, while we're all together, we are capable of standing strong against Clu's forces."

What the Specials and ISOs did, was not what she expected. They all started applauding; as if she gave some sort of inspiring speech meant to give everyone hope. _It did sort of inspire hope._ Ally smiled and stepped backward, telling them that she was done with the speech.

Liz walked over to Ally. "So what do we do?"

Ally frowned. "I guess we don't have much choice except to go into hiding… unless we want to eventually get caught by Clu's forces or stay in the Outlands with only Grid Bugs for company."

"Uh, yeah. I think we should all go into hiding. It sounds like the best option." Liz kicked the ground with her boot. She looked tired.

Ally turned to address the crowd of ISOs and Specials again. "Liz and I decided it would be best for the sake of our lives and safety that we all split up and divide. We're all going into hiding until we can find a way to resolve this."

Ally looked at the ISOs. "You guys will have to change your attire to fit in with Basics." She bit her lip. "And you're definitely going to have to cover up the light lines on your skin, including the ISO marks."

Ally looked at the Specials. "Usually, it's very difficult to determine if a program is a Special, so it might be easier for us to blend in with Basics."

Liz frowned at Ally. "But you might have trouble with the neon green circuits thing."

Ally gave her a half smile and shook her head. "Don't worry about me. I can take care of myself." She pulled Liz into a comforting hug. "I have to go out and live on my own for a while. I promise to contact you when I know it's time to reunite with everyone else."

Evelyn walked over to Liz and Ally. "I think I'm going to keep in touch with the rest of the ISOs, of course we'll spread out across the Grid, but we'll be sure to keep in touch and communicate often. You know, we'll send messages."

Ally nodded. "Good idea. A communication system."

Liz looked at Ally. "But… where will **you** go, Alpha?"

Ally bit her lip. "I'm not sure yet. I promise that this isn't the last time you'll see me though."

They both nodded. "Okay." Liz said.

Evelyn drew her disk and opened the outfits slot. She pressed a few buttons and docked her disk again. Her black suit now completely covered her body, along with gloves that completely covered her hands. Her circuits were completely white. There weren't many on her suit just enough to show something other than black. It looked awesome… and mysterious.

Ally smiled reassuringly at them and embraced them both in a hug. Evelyn gasped and giggled a little. Liz smiled. Ally closed her eyes. "Goodbye." Then she turned away and rezzed her bike, heading into the distant Outlands, still unsure of where to go.

An idea came to her. Flynn once mentioned that there was gang trouble to take care of in Neon. _Hopefully, the troublesome gangers were taken care of._ Ally thought about it. _Neon… it sounds like a nice City. I'm sure everyone there is very friendly. What's the worst that could happen?_

When she arrived in the city, she took off her disk and opened up her outfit options. First, she decided to remove her 'A' emblem from her white and neon green suit and placed it on a medic uniform, which was also saved in her outfits slot.

She also decided to change back into her natural appearance. Dark blue sparkly eyes, perfectly straight dirty blonde hair with choppy tips that are dyed red. Then she docked her disk and watched the magnificent neon green 'A' disappear.

_Where should I go?_ Ally wondered. She decided to scour the streets and look for a home and a place to work. It didn't take long to get both.

Unfortunately, on the way to the first day of her job, two guys tried to rape her in an alley. She was lucky enough to be saved by some other program. He had gang circuitry designs on his suit, so she was wary of him at first, but since he seemed to be kind and respectful of women, he walked her to the club where she worked safely, she decided that she could trust him.

When she needed to say her name, she didn't want to lie since she was in his debt for saving her from those two programs and he seemed like a nice, honest program so she told him to call her Ally. It's a nickname that she decided to be called while she's in hiding. He told her that his name was Beck.

They spent only about twenty cycles of getting to know each other better, pranking other programs, exploring, and simply having fun. It was all great… until she discovered that Beck was part of the Crims. Apparently, it's the most feared gang in Neon. It looks like they weren't dealt with like Flynn wanted.

When Beck decided to leave the gang and run away with her, which she agreed with. The Crims decided to get back at him for leaving by kidnapping her and tying her up. The next thing she saw was Beck on his lightcycle heading to an abandoned warehouse for some reason.

Just a few moments later, the building exploded. Flames engulfing the old warehouse was all Ally could see for a while. Gage, the leader of the Crims smirked at her. "That's what happens when you mess around with the Crims." His smirk turned into a scowl. "Get out of this City… and don't come back!"

Without question, she obeyed. There was no point in not listening. Ally decided to head to Bismuth next. If she couldn't be with Beck, then she shouldn't be with any other program at all.

Not long after, she heard about this organization against Clu called: The Resistance Movement. Deciding it would be a great way to work against Clu, she disguised her appearance with glowing neon green colored eyes, wavy sandy brown hair. Not that it was necessary; she was going to wear a mask. If she was ever seen, she'd rather be recognized as 'Alpha' and not 'Ally'.

Then she also changed into a medical uniform with neon green circuitry and her 'A' emblem with her usual high heels. In order to join, they had to test your physical output, intelligence, and then they interrogate the program. Her intelligence and physical output was over the top, making her a very potential help for the Resistance Movement.

She just wanted to blend in with the medics but one thing led to the next and the next thing she knew; Chad decided to make her the head figure of the entire Resistance. Not long after becoming the leader of the Resistance Movement, they were transferred to Gallium, where Clu found their hideout. When Ally and Clu saw each other, she was pretty sure that Clu recognized her.

Sky and Ally got separated from the rest of their fellow resistors after the raid and were forced to go into hiding in Argon. At first, it was boring and Ally felt like she needed to do something, but she eventually warmed up to Sky and they learned to get along better. At times they have their differences but they're still really good friends now.

Ally kept staring into the mirror at her neon green eyes. She couldn't help but wonder why Clu kept giving her so much of his valuable attention. _Was it because I had three programmings instead of one? Is it because I can change my physical features and no one else can?_

She had so many questions and so little answers and she was pretty sure that most of them will still remain a mystery to her. Ally sighed and walked towards the door. She wanted to get these crazy, delusional thoughts out of her head. _There's no reason that Clu would acknowledge me in such a way. I'm not that much different from other Specials._

She wasn't surprised either when Evelyn told her that she'd be communicating with the other ISOs like she said she would. She just didn't expect Evelyn and the rest of the ISOs to form a communication system not only for ISOs and Specials, but for **everyone**. It was a very risky move on their part.

Even Occupation soldiers would be allowed to use the communication system. The soldiers work for Clu, and if he found out that Evelyn and the rest of her messengers were ISOs, then he'd attack them. Then things would get really complicated for everyone.

Ally walked out of her bedroom door and into the hallway. Sky was sleeping peacefully in his own room so Ally had the opportunity to go outside for a walk. She had some thinking to do.

…

It felt like forever before Curfew ended!

Alpha isn't the only thing on Beck's mind that's causing trouble. _This stupid lightcycle won't let me repair it!_ Beck actually thought working in the garage would help take his mind off of things, but he can't shake the thought that there's something familiar about Alpha… and that the lightbike won't even let Beck plug his stupid recoder in the stupid bike!

Beck rolled his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. After calming down, he tried plugging in hid recoder again. It wouldn't plug in. Beck growled and pounded the lightcycle with his fist several times. Able walked by and stopped staring at Beck like he totally lost his mind.

Beck glanced at Able and shrugged. "I can't fix this lightcycle."

Able looked like he was trying not to laugh as he walked over to Beck and grabbed the recoder. "Um, you're trying to fix the bike while the recoder's still deactivated?"

Beck felt really embarrassed for not noticing that. He was really distracted this cycle. Able lifted and eyebrow. "See what I meant when I said that you're unfocused?" Beck nodded.

Able grinned and patted Beck's shoulder. "Remember; feel free to talk to me if you need to." Beck nodded again and turned back to the bike.

This time, with his recoder activated, he easily plugged it back into the vehicle. Beck grumbled when he realized that he now has dents on the bike to repair as well. "Next time, Beck, take your anger out during the simulations! This wasn't the bike's fault!"

"Now you're talking to yourself? Should I be the one worried this time?" Beck looked up to Zed smirking at him.

Beck grinned. "Yep, I've totally lost it."

Zed patted Beck on the back. "Don't worry about it. I won't tell." Beck chuckled. "Anyways, Mara and I are going to hang out at the club later. Are you going to join us?"

Beck nodded. "Of course I will."

Zed started walking away. "Later! I'll let you get back to work!"

Beck waved to Zed. "Yeah, I wouldn't want to get distracted with **another** topic."

…

Paige stood next to Dyson, looking at Clu to know his decision. To be honest, Clu was surprised. This might've been the last thing he expected to be reported. "Wait, you're telling me that Cyrus is somehow still alive and he's a crazy nutcase who's trying to destroy the Grid?"

Dyson nodded. "Well that pretty much sums it up."

Clu pinched the bridge of his nose. "We need to keep this quiet from the Citizens or things will go chaotic."

Dyson nodded. "Right, should we send out some search parties to look for Cyrus?"

Clu nodded. "Yes, do it."

Dyson bowed and walked out of the room. Paige turned to leave as well but Clu stopped her. "Paige, wait."

Paige turned around to face Clu and clasped her hands behind her back. "Yes Sir?"

Clu frowned at her. "Where have you been and what have you been doing lately?"

Panic rose up in Paige's chest. She knew that Clu was suspicious of her disappearances. "I've been out chasing the Renegade, I got kidnapped by the psychopath twice, and sometimes I just go out for a walk to clear my head."

Clu frowned. "Every time you're gone, the Loner is out vandalizing. That raises my suspicions… a lot."

Paige kept a straight face. "There's nothing to worry about, Sir."

Clu narrowed his eyes. "May I see your disk?"

Paige wished she could derez right there and then. Because she was knew that she was dead now anyways. It would be better for her to just get it over with. Paige drew her disk and walked over to Clu, handing it over. She knew she had no choice but to give it to him.

Clu accessed her memory files and sifted through them. Paige bit the inside of her cheek when he viewed a memory of her vandalizing a building with the words: Clu Lies. It's all Clu needed to see when he closed the memory file and turn towards her. "I thought you were better than this, Paige."

She brought up the nerve to scowl at him. "Well I thought that you'd actually tell me the truth!" Clu was caught off guard when she said that. "Yeah, I know what Tesler did to me."

Paige ran over and snatched her disk back and turned just in time to block a blow from Clu's fist. He frowned and drew his disk. "You just made a big mistake, Paige."

Paige bared her teeth and activated her disk, getting into a fighting stance. Clu struck out with his disk, which was blocked with Paige's, then he took an opening and punched her in the stomach. Paige doubled over and Clu slashed her left arm with his disk.

Paige cried out and her reflexes kicked in. Paige lifted her leg and planted her foot on Clu's chest. All she had to do was extend her leg briefly to send him flying across the room.

Paige took the opportunity to run out the door. It wouldn't be long before Clu sent soldiers after her. Paige ran into the hangar and rezzed her bike. She exited the Base just before the guards were ordered to seal the ship.

She let out a sigh of relief, but it was short-lived when she already saw wanted posters of herself. Paige groaned and rested her head on the front of her bike. _It's happening already…_

Paige looked backwards to see someone tailing her bike. _Well that's just great!_ Paige turned on her light wall and cut the program off. His bike derezzed immediately but leaving the program alive. Paige didn't hate the soldiers that worked for Clu, she pitied them. _They really have no idea what's going on._

Paige kept riding down the street. She wracked her head with thoughts for the future. A paranoia that Cyrus would jump out and attack her, Clu coming after her himself, the Renegade bothering her about joining him (which she's still not interested in), and what she was going to do now that she's officially an Enemy of the State.

_Maybe I could go back to Gallium. I can cut my hair the way it used to be and be a medic all over again._ Gallium sounded like a good idea. She heard that they were short of medics in the hospitals anyway. It's also the City where Tesler found her. It'd be the last place Clu would expect to find her.

Paige pushed her bike to go faster. She needed to get out of this City and start fresh. She wanted nothing to do with Clu, she didn't want to join the Renegade, and she wished that she never met Quorra in the first place. At least then she wouldn't be stuck in this mess now. She'd be working with her friends, she wouldn't be wanted by Clu's forces. She'd still be happy.

Paige headed for the lone road in the Outlands that headed straight to Gallium. _At least there's a chance of not running into as much trouble as I would in Argon._ Paige's arm was sore. _Top priority when I reach Gallium: Fix my arm._

Paige also realized that she'd have to change out of her military attire and get back into a medical uniform. She smiled to herself. _Leaving is the first step of starting fresh._ Gallium is a nice, quiet, and peaceful City. The odds of running into trouble are very slim. Her new start was going to be good. Everything will be perfect. She could **feel** it.

…

Ally walked down the streets, thinking about the future possibilities. She kept getting the same conclusion. _Evelyn and the rest of the ISOs are doing something very risky. They're putting themselves too close to Clu's forces and other Basics. The only good thing about this is that it's something that Clu would least expect._ Ally knew that Clu would **eventually** find out that Evelyn and her messengers are all ISOs.

Ally stopped walking when a thought occurred. _Why didn't I think about this before?! Was I preoccupied?_ Ally shrugged and kept walking. There wasn't much that she could do for Evelyn's situation. There was no turning back.

She looked around at her surroundings. She was very close to Argon Square. Close enough to see a yellow sign on most of the boards saying: Perfection is Freedom.

Ally gagged and rolled her eyes. Just those three words were enough to make her angry and want to throw her disk through Clu… even though she never killed a program before and doesn't have plans to.

Ally drew her disk and switched her stealth outfit with her medic uniform with her 'A' emblem. She then turned and climbed up to the sign that said those yellow words that told nothing but lies.

She looked down at the controls and knelt in front of them. Ally pushed a few buttons and opened up a hologram of its coding. Ally switched the words and added a few tweaks before saving and closing the hologram.

For a few moments, the screens flickered and showed static. Ally kicked the device and the signs lit up in neon green with the words: Freedom is Perfection. Ally smirked and climbed back down.

Like Clu, Ally loved and wanted perfection, but their ideas of it differed a lot. Clu thought absolute control was perfection. But Ally believed that freedom with a government made up from a group and a system of jobs was perfection. She thought the Grid was perfect when Flynn was still around. There was no dictator and no absolute power. Everyone was happy. Ally wanted that back. The Citizens deserved it.

Ally turned to see orange in the direction she was going. She sighed. The other direction would head directly into Argon Square itself. She had no other choice but to run the other way though.

…

Beck was finally able to clear his head and relax thanks to Zed and Mara. They sat at a booth in the club and talked about fun and random stuff like they used to before Tesler took over Argon and Bodhi got derezzed.

He was glad to actually have fun again. But his time was cut short when an alarm of some sort went off. Beck and his friends stood up immediately and ran outside to see a magnificent sight.

The yellow words: 'Perfection is Freedom' that traveled across the screens and boards flickered and turned neon green. "What's happening?" Mara asked. Zed shrugged. Beck just stared. The neon green letters scrambled and switched around and now spelled: Freedom is Perfection.

Beck smirked. "That's genius! I wonder why the Renegade didn't come up with that sooner." Zed and Mara giggled at Beck's comment.

Zed narrowed his eyes to focus in on something. "Hold on! I see someone!"

Beck raised an eyebrow. "What?" He looked in the direction Zed looked to see a program in high heels, gloves, a mask, and neon green circuits with an 'A' emblem jump off one of the signs. "That's… Alpha."

Mara grinned. "She's awesome!"

Beck looked around to see other programs actually chanting the three green letters passing over the screen. **"Freedom is Perfection! Freedom is Perfection! Freedom is Perfection! Freedom is Perfection! Freedom is Perfection!"**

Zed and Mara eventually joined in. Beck kept studying the words on the screen and smiling. _That crazy, smart girl… she's good at vandalism, but she's probably going to get herself killed…_

"Excuse me!" A girl shoved past Beck and his friends and she was really in a hurry. Beck recognized her circuitry colors immediately. _It's Alpha… again._

Beck grinned and decided to add humor. "Is she back so soon?" Zed and Mara started laughing again at his small joke.

Dyson and four other soldiers pushed past Zed, Mara, and Beck and chased after Alpha. Beck smirked. _Good luck catching her. I'd actually be impressed if they managed to. She's feisty!_

Apparently, while Alpha was running away, several programs saw her and decided to chant her name together. **"Alpha! Alpha! Alpha! Alpha! Alpha! Alpha!"** After about five chants of her name, just about every program in Argon Square was chanting her name.

Beck was impressed with Alpha. The Renegade's been around Argon much longer than she was, and she already has programs chanting her name. He never managed to do that with other programs.

Beck watched Alpha keep running until she left the square and disappeared into the streets. Dyson and the four soldiers followed close behind.

It was amazing how quickly Clu's forces discovered the incident because they were clearing everyone out of Argon Square. Programs were pushing and shoving. Beck got separated from Zed and Mara. He took the opportunity to disappear into an alley.

Beck drew his disk and altered his outfit. When he docked his disk, his outfit changed to his black Renegade suit. Beck's mask slid over his face as he rezzed his bike and headed in the direction he saw Alpha going.

…

Ally wasn't faltering, she kept running. She glanced behind several times while running to check and see if Dyson and those four other black guards were still chasing her. Sure enough, they were.

She stared straight ahead and kept running. She was surprised how quickly Dyson and those soldiers responded to her little message to the Citizens of Argon. Sky was probably going to get mad at her if he ever finds out that she once again, drew attention to herself.

Her mask was for some reason, getting foggy. Alpha took the risk and removed her mask to find out the problem. It wasn't hard to notice. Her breath was getting warm. She frowned as she kept running. She was running faster than she was used to and was doing it for a longer period of time than recommended. She wasn't tired; she was just getting a physical reaction from her body's actions. It

She turned sharply into another alley and looked backwards to see if she was still being followed. No one was behind her. Ally stopped running. She still didn't know the streets of Argon very well.

She was confused when she saw that again, she wasn't being followed. Dyson was probably taking another route so he could corner her again later.

Ally rolled her eyes and started walking back the way she came. But when she rounded the corner, something slammed against her back and she was pushed into another dark alley. A mysterious figure pinned her on the ground with her back against the wall.

She struggled against the weight, but was held fast against the wall. Ally groaned. She was pretty sure she got caught. She couldn't get a good look at her captor. Her wrists were pinned down to her sides by the program's knees and she was unable to move. She sighed in defeat. "Alright, you got me."

"Shhhh!" The program whispered sharply. This time, Ally managed to twist enough to catch a glimpse of a 'T' on his chest. _Oh great, it's the Renegade._

She grumbled and rolled her glowing neon green eyes. "Oh, you again. What are you doing?! I thought I made it clear not to-"

The Renegade covered her now unmasked mouth with one of his hands. "Shhhh…" His tone was more quiet and gentle. Ally squinted into the darkness to see what was going on. She saw nothing, all she heard was running. Dyson and the soldiers were still chasing and looking for her. She smirked at the fact that she actually outran them.

She could hear Dyson stop running. He was panting… and he wasn't very far away from the alley that she was in. Ally immediately started struggling again. She didn't like being so close to the enemy and feeling so immobilized. The Renegade tightened his grip on her and held firm.

"Split up and find her!" Dyson shouted.

The soldiers sounded tired too. "But… Sir, she outran us. She must be on the other side of the City by now, perhaps at the Docks."

She could hear Dyson curse under his breath and turned back to his soldiers, still tired and panting. "Then let's go search the Docks!" Ally heard them run off in the direction of the Docks. _Idiots._ Ally thought to herself with another roll of her eyes.

She tried getting up, but the Renegade continued holding her down. She narrowed her glowing green eyes at him. "They're gone… now let me up!" She said, muffled by his hand.

The Renegade removed his hand and sighed. "Why are you like this?"

Ally frowned. "What do you mean?"

"You constantly push others away and avoid being helped, why?"

Ally glared at him. "That's none of your concern. Now get off of me!"

"No, not until I receive answers." Ally groaned. The Renegade had the upper hand, literally. He's not going to release her until he gets answers. Ally was a little impressed how patient he was, waiting for the right moment when the odds would be in his favor.

She frowned. "You're really not going to let me go until I start talking, are you?" The Renegade didn't respond right away. "Your methods of patience are impressive, but you can't really expect me to-" Without warning, the Renegade covered her mouth again.

"Shhhh…" He obviously heard something.

Ally lifted an eyebrow. "What is it?" Her voice was muffled again by his hand.

"I'm trying to figure that out. Just stay quiet." He whispered. Ally listened in. There were footsteps…a lot of them. More soldiers were scanning the area for her. Ally was starting to see a dim, dark glow of orange on the walls. They were very close.

The Renegade saw the lights too and got up. As Ally got up too, the Renegade pulled out his baton. "Did you bring a lightbike?"

Ally shook her head and pulled her mask back on. "I can run."

"Past them?!" He spoke to her as if she wasn't thinking everything through, and she really didn't.

Ally shrugged. "Sure, why not?" She crept up to the exit and peeked around the corner. The black guards must've known that she was here because there were a lot of them. She doubted that she'd be able to make it past them without getting captured.

She leaned back and shook her head. "Well, I guess making a run for it is ruled out of my options. I'd never make it." She looked around and studied the rooftops. "Give me a boost. I can help you up once I get up there."

The Renegade looked at her with what she guessed was uncertainty. "I **will** help you up once I get up there. Besides, you want to get out of this alive too, don't you?"

"It's not that I don't trust you but…" He looked at the high wall. "You think you can scale that?"

Ally waved away his question like it wasn't important. "I've scaled much taller buildings than that, it's nothing."

The Renegade shrugged. "Okay, I'm **trusting** you." He laced his fingers together and bent over, crouching slightly. Ally took a running start and stepped into the little cradle made from his hands. He extended his legs and straightened up. When the momentum reached full capacity, Ally jumped and ricocheted off the wall and then the other. She reached the top in no time.

She turned around and looked down. "Okay, take a running start like I did and then ricochet off the walls like I did. You won't be able to reach the top on your own so I'm going to catch you."

He took a running start and did what Ally instructed him to do. He made the last jump and reached out to grip the edge of the building. He knew he wouldn't make it, now he knew why she said she'd catch him.

Ally reached out and grabbed Beck's hand. She then lifted him onto the building effortlessly. "Gee, I thought the guards would see us by now." Just after Ally finished her comment, an orange disk came flying towards her. Ally ducked just before it took her head off.

She looked off the edge of the building to see a black guard catch his disk. Another one smacked the back of his helmet. "Idiot! Clu wants her alive! Get her!"

Ally frowned under her mask. "I'm so busted." She turned and took Beck's hand. She started running. "Let's go or we're dead…" She jumped onto another rooftop. Beck followed.

They jumped rooftop after rooftop until they were sure that they lost the guards. Ally sighed and sat down, taking off her mask. It kept clouding up inside. Now she wished that she wasn't so **gifted**. First thing she'll do when she gets back is taking a look at her disk to disable this stupid, useless ability.

She glanced off the edge of the roof to see if anyone was around. The coast was clear. She sat down and sighed. "Well that went well." She said sarcastically. She glanced up at Beck. "Are they always this persistent with you?"

Beck shrugged. "Well, not really. Paige and Pavel are pretty much the only programs who've actually **tried** their hardest."

Ally chuckled. "I think Paige has a thing for you."

"Yeah, I doubt it."

Ally stood up and patted Beck's shoulder. "You did well tonight… but you could've avoided that method of saying 'hi' to me."

Beck folded his arms. "I knew it!"

Ally raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"I knew that you were more than just a jerk!"

Ally laughed and playfully punched his shoulder. "Don't get used to it! Because it doesn't mean that we're a team… or friends."

"Right, I get the point."

"And-"

"Don't go out looking for you…unless I have a death wish!"

Ally giggled. "Right." She turned around and put her mask back on. "See you around…" She jumped off the building and landed neatly on her feet at the bottom. She straightened up and started running. She rounded a corner and disappeared.

Beck sighed. _Well that went much better than last time._ He climbed down from the building and rezzed his bike. He needed to get to the garage before Zed and Mara got suspicious. Who was he kidding? They already are suspicious! It's only a matter of time before they really do figure out where Beck's really been sneaking off to.

…

Ally quietly entered the apartment. Hopefully, Sky didn't know that she was gone. A light switched on to reveal Sky. Ally let out a startled cry. "Oh! Don't do that to me! You scared me half to **death**!"

Sky smirked playfully. "And that's how I felt when I discovered you missing."

Ally groaned. "Right…"

"And," Sky started, walking over to her. She couldn't help but notice his big smile. "We're going back."

Ally raised her eyebrows under her mask. "Wait…what?! You mean…we're going to rendezvous with the rest of the Resistance Movement?!" Sky nodded. "**FINALLY!** I thought we'd **never** be able to return! I'm so happy!"

Ally was hyperventilating so much that she was starting to fog up her mask again. She had to remove it and then hugged Sky. "Yay! We're going back! Wait!" She let go and looked up at Sky. "When are we going back?"

Sky looked surprised to see her face but kept his pleasant smile. "After curfew is over."

Ally grinned and hugged him again. "Yay!"

* * *

**Okay, here's my Epilogue, Enjoy! XD**

* * *

**Epilogue**

Paige finally reached Gallium. And it looked just the same as it did last time Paige was here. The Medical Center that she worked in was torn down by Tesler's orders and every Medic in the Hospital was derezzed. Now there was just empty space where the Hospital used to be.

Paige turned her bike back into a baton and looked around. Paige ducked into an alley and looked at the reflective walls. She drew her disk and changed her outfit from the orange and red military outfit into a medical uniform.

Then she fixed the wound on her arm. It really stung now. Clu is a vicious fighter, no doubt about that. Now she knew why so many programs feared him. She shook her head to clear the thoughts from her head. She didn't want to think about the occupation now that she's starting fresh.

The next thing Paige did was activate her disk. She stared into her reflection on the walls very carefully. She let down her bun and let her hair hang loose. Then she started cutting it. She didn't have second thoughts of her haircut.

She knew she couldn't walk around with the same hair style so she decided to cut it so it would look like it used to before she joined the army. She wanted to have bangs again, with her hair a little bit shorter like it used to be so she could wear it down again.

When she was finished, she looked unchanged; as if she was never found by Tesler and never joined the army. Now she just had to find a Medical Center to work in and she'll be the same program she used to be.

Paige walked out of the alley and looked around. _There has to be a Medical Center somewhere!_ She saw a building with jade green lights. She smiled. She had a good feeling that this was a Medical Center.

She found the entrance and walked inside to the front desk. "Excuse me; is it possible I can get a job in this Hospital?"

The receptionist looked up at Paige and nodded. She handed Paige a data pad. "Fill out these documents and you can work as a field medic."

Paige raised her eyebrows. She was never a field medic before, she only ever worked in the hospitals. Good thing she was a field commander in the army. For once right now, Paige was actually glad that she had experience out on the field because it might come in handy later.

Paige filled out the document and handed it back to the receptionist. She took the data pad and put it away. "What's your name, program?"

"My name is Paige."

The receptionist smiled at Paige. "Welcome to Gallium's Medical Center, Paige."

Another Medic ran over to the counter. "Dallas, the patient in room 13HB didn't make it, he derezzed before I could finish repairing his coding. I'm sorry." The Medic placed the patient's disk onto the counter while the receptionist changed the program's status from 'critical condition' to 'derezzed'.

The Receptionist looked up and Paige. "It's very rare for our patients to derez like that. And it would be nice to have another helping hand. My name is Dallas and I'm the one who will work behind the counter most of the time." She turned and looked at the medic beside Paige. "Emily over here will help you know your way around the building and will be your accompanist for the next three cycles, just to help you if you need it. this is a big Medical Center and a lot of our new Medics get lost easily."

Paige smiled. "Thank you."

Dallas smiled back and looked at Emi. "Would you please show Paige where she'll be staying?"

Emi nodded. "Of course!" She narrowed her eyes at Dallas. "And don't call me that! Around here, I'm known as Emi!" She said dramatically. Paige couldn't help but giggle. She looked at Paige. "Right this way. And if you have any belongings, then-"

"No, I'm starting fresh." Paige smiled.

Emi giggled. "No kidding. Well then, see ya later Dallas!" Dallas smirked and rolled her eyes. Emi lead Paige over to an elevator and walked inside. The elevator landed on level 7. Emi lead Paige through a long, wide hallway. Eventually, they stopped by a door.

Emi glanced over at Paige. "Dallas already cleared the door's combination. Type in your personal code and that'll be your combination to get inside your dormitory. And…" Emi giggled. "Don't forget your combination, or you'll have to go to the front desk and ask Dallas and trust me, she gets really annoyed when that happens."

Paige smiled and giggled. "Right." She reached over and typed in a series of numbers and the pad made a beeping noise.

"It accepted your code, now type it in again to unlock the door." Paige typed in the code again and the door slid open. "I should also give you a heads up. After you unlock the door, it remains unlocked. There's a button on the inside of your apartment that can lock the door if you press it. Press the button a second time to unlock it. Whether it's locked or not, the door opens automatically from the inside. And to lock the door from the outside while it's unlocked, just type in your code."

Paige nodded. "Got it."

Emi smiled at Paige. "I think you have a lot of potential as a Medic. You're working on the field, right?" Paige nodded. "Good, me too. Like Dallas said, I'm basically your guide around the Medical Center until you memorize the whole place." Emi turned to leave but stopped. "And I look forward to working with you, Paige."

Paige smiled. "Me too."

"There's one more thing." Emi pulled out a walkie-talkie. "You can communicate with this. Number 1 on the channels list is communicating with everyone, Number 2 is for the front desk, and Number 3 is for me. There are more channels on the talkie for the other Medics, but you'll learn them later. Right now, you should rest. We start working next cycle. I'll come to get you when it's time to go downstairs."

Paige nodded. "Thank you."

Emi grinned. "No problem." She turned and started walking away. "Words of advice…lock your door at night. Some of our perverted coworkers like to sneak around the hallways at night."

Paige frowned. "Why would they do that?"

Emi shrugged and threw her hands in the air. "I don't know! They're just creepy and perverted! Basic way to know them. Be careful around the guys. Not all the guys here are like that; just the stereotyped guys are creepy. You can tell whether someone is good or bad around here." Emi walked out of Paige's dorm, the door opening and closing behind her automatically.

Paige listened to Emi's words of advice and locked her door by pressing the button. The words: 'Locked' now glowed jade green to let Paige know that her door was locked.

Paige walked over to the bed and layed down, closing her eyes. _I think I already made a new friend this cycle._ Paige thought. Things were already going well for her this cycle. It felt good to be a medic again and not working in the army.

Paige felt drowsy. She felt sleep getting closer. She has a new home, a new job, new coworkers, and a new appearance. Life is pretty good. And right now, it could only get better. Paige knew next cycle would be busy, and she had a feeling that she wouldn't have any trouble for a **very** long time.

…

It didn't take long for Beck to reach the garage. Curfew was about to start. Beck ducked into an alley nearby and drew his disk, changing his outfit back to normal before anyone saw him. He removed his mask and casually walked back into the garage.

Zed and Mara waved at Beck. "Over here!" Mara yelled. Beck grinned and jogged over. "Oh man, that was a mean crowd. They kept pushing and shoving. I'm sorry we all got separated."

Beck smiled. "Don't worry; it was just a bunch of rude programs." Beck walked over to the elevator. "I'm feeling a little tired. I'm gonna go into sleep mode for a while."

"Okay, bye Beck!" Mara sighed and looked at Zed. "So, do you think Alpha got away?"

Zed smirked. "Of course! She's Alpha! No one can dominate her!" They both laughed.

Beck walked out of the elevator once it reached the top and immediately headed straight for his dorm. He didn't lie to Zed and Mara, thankfully. He honestly was feeling tired. He layed down on his bed and closed his eyes.

_Hero's aren't created… they're __**made**__._ Beck smiled. It was true. Beck got upset over a loss and decided to do something about it. He was later trained by Tron himself, the greatest warrior the Grid has ever known. And now, he's starting a Revolution.

He wasn't made for this…he **became** this. There was no way that Cyrus was right and that he was actually **programmed** for this…was there? Beck didn't think of an answer before his system went offline. He really needed rest…pronto. He had a feeling that he was going to need it later on. Because the next several cycles were going to be rough.

…

Ally walked next to Sky, both of them were still disguised and wearing their masks. Ally was so excited that she thought she'd go supernova with excitement. Luckily, she didn't explode yet…good.

They turned into a dark alley and waited. After a few nanocycles, they were approached. The programs were wearing black guard uniforms with white circuits. Two of them held out their hands to shake. "Welcome back to the Resistance Movement, Alpha and Skipper."

Alpha smiled under her mask. Though she didn't want to admit it, she even missed being constantly bothered by Chad. She could barely wait for that. Sky and Alpha shook the programs' hands and walked with them through a hidden door.

Alpha was lead to her new room. When she walked in, she grinned and removed her mask immediately. Like the rest of the HQ's, her room looked exactly the same as the others. First thing she did was strip her bed of its pillows and blankets and folded them, placing them neatly in her closet. Then she plopped down on the bed and closed her eyes. _It's good to be back…_

* * *

**Now here's my Trailer. (It's my very first time that I EVER wrote a trailer. Sorry if it sucks. I did my best. The scenes are basically sneak peeks to my sequel: Tron: The Revolution Begins-Book Two: Rise of the Resistance Movement. I know, long title like the one this book has, but I couldn't resist! XD I just love the titles! Anyways, enjoy! :D**

* * *

**Trailer**

Zed, Mara, and Beck walked down the street together, heading for Argon Square. Gage, Perl, and the rest of their gang stepped out from the shadows. Gage looked at Beck and smirked. "What's up, Beck? Did you miss me?"

…

Paige walked out of the Medical Center that she works and lives in and stared at the ground. It was so quiet that she could hear disk fighting going on. Paige ran towards the noise. A male program with white-blue primary circuits and dark green secondary circuits being attacked by a black guard. It was Sky, though Paige didn't know him or his name. The victim was kind of cute. He had light brown choppy hair that went down just below his eyebrows and was swept to the right side of his head. His hazel eyes widened with fear as he was knocked to the ground. Paige drew her disk and attacked the black guard. When she knocked him out, she rushed over to the attack victim to look at his injuries. Sky was in critical condition. Paige leaned him up against a wall and took his disk to fix the damages. When he recovered, he looked up at Paige and smiled a little. "Hi…"

Paige looked at him and smiled. "Hi."

…

Dyson put on a stern expression in front of the Citizens as he continued his speech. "Defiance will **not** be tolerated! Anyone who thinks that they're the exception will be derezzed! Anyone who knows any remaining ISOs will report them immediately! Anyone who knows of any Specials… will report them! Anyone who does not follow the rules that Clu set up when he first arrived, will be derezzed immediately!"

…

Ally, with her mask off, walked next to Sky down the road. "You know, I think I should admit that you're the **first** program in the Resistance Movement that I actually think is fun and well behaved at the same time. You're a great friend."

Sky smiled at her. "Thank you, Alpha. That… really means a lot to me."

…

Beck and Ally, both undisguised stared at each other with wide, surprised eyes. "Beck…" Ally began. She crumpled to her knees. "I can't believe you're here…you're alive…" She smiled at him and her eyes sparkled.

Beck knelt down beside her and pulled her in his arms. "I thought you were dead…" Beck squeezed his eyes shut and smiled. "I'm so glad that you're not."

…

Ally, in her Alpha uniform, gloves, and mask started running. The ground was breaking up behind her and was catching up to her very quickly. Eventually, she couldn't stay ahead of it, and she started falling into abyss, screaming.

…

Tron, in the white suit, removed his mask and stared defiantly at Clu. The colorful, neat words: 'Tron Lives' was written all over the walls that surrounded him. All he could hear was gasps coming from the Citizens of Argon when they saw his face and realized that he really was alive. Clu smirked deviously. "Tron! Long time, no see! Where have you been, old friend?"

Tron frowned. "Anywhere but around you." He scowled. He heard some snickers from the crowd from his taunting.

…

Beck, dressed as the Renegade, ran over to a window and stared at the unbelievable sight. "Tron! Noooo!" He drew his disk and broke the glass. He put his disk back and pulled out a bomb.

Beck threw the bomb, which attached itself to the repurposing pod that Tron was in. But it was too late; the repurposing code was already entering Tron and was still steadily flowing inside of him. The circuits of his outfit already orange.

The bomb exploded and Tron fell over. Beck ran over. "Tron…are you alright?" He couldn't ignore the electronic purring noised that was coming from Tron. Tron opened his eyes and focused on Beck. He immediately got up, put on his mask, and drew his disk.

Beck stood up and walked backwards. "Tron…it's me, Beck! Don't you remember?" Tron didn't respond, he kept attacking Beck until he was on the ground. Tron jumped on top of Beck and held his disk close to Beck's throat.

…

Several Occupation black guards grabbed Ally's arms and cuffed them behind her back. Ally struggled. "How could you do this?! I **trusted** you! And you **betrayed** me!" She yelled as they dragged her away.

* * *

**I've really enjoyed writing this book for you all. :) I'll get started on the Sequel soon. I just wanna say: "It's gonna be EPIC!" XD Thank you all you kind readers for looking at my book, all my chapters, and sticking with the first book all the way through. This is the first book I've EVER written and you've all been a supportive audience. XD If anyone has any questions, or comments, leave it in the Reviews box. :) TRON LIVES! Toodles!**


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